Gratification
by Heavens Wrath 15
Summary: *discontinued* The pitiful attempts of Tsunade and Jiraiya trying to help out the younger generation. Is there no end to their madness! NaruSaku!
1. Not Just Another Day

**Hello, and welcome to my fanfiction! ****SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!**** Anyone who hasn't read post-time skip in the manga, when Naruto, Sakura, and others turn 15 and get older (shippuuden!), and doesn't want it spoiled for them, then don't read this fanfiction. There are many spoilers. In fact, I've taken some of the scenes from the manga and put them in my story. I think it's Chapter 343 and on which I have used. Something like that. Also previous spoilers from pre-time skip! I have no idea how far anyone is in the manga or anime. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK! You have been forewarned!!!**

**Lets make this part quick and painless. Want to know about me? Check out my Bio page! THIS IS MY FIRST NARUSAKU STORY!!! YAY!!! This is my first story in almost 4 years too. Woot! Sakura and Naruto are both 15 years old, so post time-skip.**

**This fanfiction is named "Gratification," because it is something I hope to be greatly satisfying to all who read, it sort of fit what my own inner desires for a Naruto and Sakura fanfiction, and for some reason this title just fit for some odd reason and prevents me from naming it something else. Anyway, Hope you enjoy it as well. Though I realize many of these ideas have probably been used elsewhere, if you are sitting there thinking, "I've seen this somewhere," I don't doubt it. I can't keep track of who has used which ideas, or where I've seen these from, but there is some of my 'original' ideas added in. Yes I use that term lightly since I have no way of showing whether they are original or not. The reason I used the manga is because I'm trying to stay true to the characters that are already made. Anyway, one last bit of info, I don't like going too OOC (out of character), but prefer to use what has been given.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto! I don't own the Manga! I don't own the Anime! I'm not the creator! The scenes from the manga are not mine nor will they ever be. They belong to Shonen Jump, and their creator. I'm too lazy to go look it up right now, but it belongs to them. Some of the ideas are probably not original, but I have no way of finding out who came up with them. I'm simply borrowing the characters and ideas to make my own plot. Yes folks, the storyline is mine. As in the order of events and such are coming out of my mind. ENJOY!!!  
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**Gratification  
Chapter 1: Not Just Another Day**

A feeling of heart-pounding, uneasy excitement flowed throughout her body like water filling a container. How did she get into this position? Sitting on the ground, inches away from her teammate, wanting to kiss him passionately, and yet restraining herself due to previous commitments. IT WAS MADDENING! It was as if every feeling she ever had for him materialized in front of her, and taking action was the last step.

She glanced over at her blond companion who was now lying on the grassy ground looking up at the stars. He had a complacent smile on his face. His good arm was behind his head to act as a cushion, while his other arm still in the cast resting upon his stomach. Knowing him, the smile was mostly a result of her existence in the training ground with him. It was a cloudless night, and the full moon was glimmering overhead. Without the moon, she would never be able to see his expressions.

"Sakura-chan," the man next to her said quietly.

This time she looked at him with a soft smile. He was the only person to make her smile in this fashion. Once they had locked eyes, the blond ninja continued, "Sakura-chan, I won't break my promise to you. It is my way of the ninja."

She instantly looked away as she could feel her smirk dissolve into a grimace. It was her fault five other ninjas had put their lives in danger. Even three years later, she still felt guilty, disgusted with herself, and more responsible than anyone seeing as it was her childhood crush that had caused so much pain in the past. While her teammate did all he could to fulfill his promise to her, she had only stood there and cried to him. Though he failed to bring Sasuke back, she couldn't tell him 3 years later she no longer cared for the traitor, but turned her attention towards him.

"Naruto…" she said as her voice trailed off. Everything was so complex. She couldn't tell him how she really felt; it would be almost cruel to say that she wanted him to give up on Sasuke seeing as it was her love for Sasuke he was trying so hard to protect. It would make all the years they trained to get stronger seem worthless. However, she wanted him with her as long as humanly possible. He continued to smile at her. Only one amendment came to mind at this moment.

"I'm changing your promise to me."

What did she mean? Naruto, confused by her words, stared at her dumbfounded.

Sakura looked at him before she continued, "Naruto, I told you this already. **Together** we are going to get Sasuke-kun back. I want to be with you." Sakura turned bright red in a heartbeat, and immediately looked away. Her heart was pounding from embarrassment. Did she really say what she thought she said? She felt extremely awkward sitting there, though she meant it honestly.

Naruto was stunned. Everything disappeared with the last sentence. Did she just say that she wanted to be with him? He felt himself blush; hopefully it was dark enough that she couldn't see his cheeks turn pink. When did she say they would do this together? He racked his brain, and finally remembered it was right after they had lost to Sasuke about a month or so ago.

Sakura calmed herself down, knowing it wasn't the end of the world. Once again the hospital scene popped into her head, "But…please," she started, "Don't use that jutsu anymore, it comes with too high a risk like Kakashi said. It was the arm you used this time, but next time it may be worse."

Naruto slowly sat up and looked at her for a moment; taking in all her features. However, multiple ideas of what to say and do popped into his head at that moment, only one idea stood out to him. He could easily tell her not to worry, or that he would never use the jutsu again, but it would be rather difficult. It would be the most ineffective way of dealing with her. Naruto hesitated for a moment, but then moved his body closer to hers…

* * *

It was as if the scene from earlier that day in the hospital had been replaying like a broken video recording inside her head. His facial expressions, words, tone of voice…why did it make her heart thump the inside of her chest. This wasn't supposed to be happening.

"_It's broken in so many places….Your body can't handle that Jutsu. Don't use it unless you're totally out of options okay? You're going to kill yourself if you use it too much," _she had told him sternly, hoping he would listen.

"_Ah, I'll be fine as long as I have you to fix me up!"_

His words had forced her to jerk her head up to look at him, _"No, you won't!"_ It was as if she were speaking to a small child, _"Medical Ninjutsu can't just heal every injury right away!"_

She was almost expecting him to make some snide remark under his breath, say some idiotic statement again, or complain about how it was a cool jutsu and he wanted to use it anyway. Instead he did something unexpected. There was a short pause where all he did was stare at her affectionately. It wasn't the same cocky grin, or high and mighty smile this time.

"_Actually...I feel really good...really happy."_

"_Huh?"_

He continued, _" I feel like the two of us are getting closer to Sasuke."_

She continued to walk towards the library, the scene continuing to replay once again in her mind. The library would be the most effective way for her to block out these thoughts of him. His last few sentences were just part of his master plan of driving her insane. Why did she blush every time she remembered the way he looked at her? She silently cursed at her heart when that part appeared. She then remembered she was suppose to meet Naruto and Kakashi at Ichiraku ramen bar for dinner. She could at least read a little more on the treatments for specific poisons.

She finally reached the library, and immediately dove into the isle for medical ninjutsu. It wasn't difficult to find a book that would satisfy this short amount of time. On her way back to the main area for sitting, she realized Sai sitting by himself again off to the side.

'Last time was actually helpful when I sat and talked with him, maybe again would be just as helpful,' she told herself as she slowly approached him.

"Hey Sai," she said as she proceeded to sit in a chair across from him.

He looked up from his book, surprised she was here, "Hello...Sakura," he had to pause to make sure he didn't say 'Ugly-Dog' or 'Hag' by accident. He had learned the first time what consequences came from that.

"So what are you reading this time?" she asked. She noticed once again the numerous interpersonal communication books on the desk.

"How to Help a Companion and Form Friendships," he said as he flipped through the pages.

"What do they recommend?"

"It says one should help out all his companions," he then read aloud from the book, "'true friendship is made by one helping out another in dire need.'"

"This is true," she commented, "You shouldn't forget any of your teammates. If one helps a companion in need it shows they care about them. Trust is built upon this base of helping and caring about a person's well-being." Sakura looked down towards her book again, and then as if a light bulb went off in her head, she looked back up, "Oh, Naruto and I are going to get ramen for dinner. Kakashi-sensei may come too. Would you like to come?"

He looked up to meet her eyes as she gave a small smile, "Okay," then smiled as well.

It did amaze her how Sai was slowly becoming more human compared to how cold he was when she and Naruto had first teamed up with him. A few minutes passed, and just as Sakura was starting to read about common poisons, Sai interrupted her thoughts.

"So what Naruto and you share is trust? Do you trust many other people?" he questioned.

She nodded, "Naruto and I have known each other for a long time. It's natural for me to trust him so much. I trust other people as well."

Sai contemplated her words momentarily, "Then he must have helped you out in a lot of situations if you trust him this much," he then went back to reading.

Sakura felt awkward about what Sai had just said. Thinking back on what she had just said about how trust was built. She knew subconsciously Sai was implying something. They continued to read their books, and before too long it was time to leave. Since the hospital was on the way they decided to stop by and get Naruto. He was sitting outside wearing a cast and sling around his right arm, which had been the arm Sakura attempted to work on earlier in the hospital. The moment Sakura saw Naruto, she suddenly felt excited. Her cheeks began to tingle with a warm sensation. Damn it, it was happening again.

"Naruto!" she said to get his attention. She waved at him, and then calmed herself down enough to realize something was missing. "Naruto, is Kakashi-sensei coming?" she asked curiously.

Naruto shot a dark look at Sai and mumbled something that sounded like, '_stupid Sai'_ under his breath before addressing her question. "He had to discuss with Granny Tsunade about a mission. He said he doesn't know if he is coming or not."

"Oh."

A loud grumble erupted from Naruto's stomach, which resulted in him saying, "Lets go! I'm starving!" and dashed down the street.

"Wait! Naruto!" Sakura yelled as she chased after him.

Sai watched his two teammates run down the street while he followed slowly. He was amused by their behavior, but especially by Sakura's behavior. '_Why does she like him so much? Is it the trust they built in each other like she said? Or is it something more? They are almost identical in some respects,_' he thought as he walked on.

Once they all reached Ichiraku ramen bar, each ordered their favorite bowl of Ramen and continued to wait for Kakashi at the bar. As soon as the ramen came, Naruto immediately yelled with joy, thanked Teuchi and attempted helplessly to split his chopsticks with one hand. With the help of Sakura, Naruto was finally able to split them, and attempt eating with his left hand. However, this resulted in a painful situation since he is right handed and some of the hot noodles missed his mouth.

Sakura who had been watching him the whole time, had the scene from the hospital earlier that day replay in her head, and suddenly felt more sympathy for him. He had been the reason the mission ended quickly and without any deaths from Konoha. Even though she had left the scene with Sai to assist Shikamaru and missed his new jutsu, after examining the man who had been the enemy she determined it to be a powerful jutsu. She should help out her teammate; especially after everything he did.

She sighed after watching him make another clumsy attempt to put the precious ramen into his mouth.

She grabbed onto the bottom of her chair and scooted it closer to him, "Oh Geez…Gimme your chopsticks."

As expected, Naruto looked at her stunned and his cheeks turning slightly pink, 'Whoa, is Sakura-chan gonna…feed me…?' Naruto thought to himself.

Naruto was about to respond, but felt something burning pressed against his mouth, and Sai saying, "Open Wiiiide!"

"OW! DAMNIT THAT'S HOT! AND WHERE THE HELL DID YOU COME FROM?"

"**SHANNARO!" **Inner Sakura yelled as she clamped her fist, though her exterior smiled at the scene before her. 'Wait...did I just get angry at Sai for ruining this?'

It was then Kakashi had come in, "Hey."

Sai and Naruto ignored his entrance, "When a friend is in trouble, you're supposed to help him out. I read in a book that that's what true friendship is."

Naruto was not satisfied with this explanation, "FORGET BOOKS! You need to learn how to read people's faces! You killed the mood!" he yelled back at Sai.

Sakura finally decided to acknowledge Kakashi though she was surprised to see him, "Kakashi-sensei?"

"What's up? Things seem pretty lively," he said as he continued to watch Naruto yelling at Sai.

After talking with Naruto, Sai and Sakura, he saw it fit to take the responsibility of feeding Naruto so as to prevent any other mishaps from occurring.

Though Kakashi had no problem smiling and feeding Naruto while the others ate, Naruto grumbled thinking, 'From Sakura-chan to Kakashi-sensei…this sucks.'

"So you're not resting up in a hospital bed for once," Sakura said to Kakashi attempting to break the silence.

"Shocking, I know. I guess that has become a tradition with me lately, hasn't it?" he said as he turned his attention back to Naruto. "Well, this time things ended without me needing to use the mangekyou sharingan. Although if you hadn't shown up when you did, I would've had to, and I'd be in bed right now! Heheheh!"

However Naruto didn't smile at what Kakashi was saying. Instead he looked back at the counter even more saddened. Attempting to brighten him up, Kakashi continued, "You've come a long way, Naruto. You're at least on equal footing with me...Probably even better. But don't ever forget...A powerful jutsu comes with a lot of risk to the user." There was a silence among all of them as they digested the warning.

"Hey, Naruto...the new jutsu is-"

However, Kakashi was cut off by Naruto, "Sensei...I know how my body works better than anyone else! And trust me, I'm the toughest guy in the Universe! And the Future Hokage! There's nothing to worry about!"

Sakura let out a, "Heh…" 'Only Naruto would say something that cocky.'

"ALL RIGHT OLD MAN, I'M FULL! Give the bill to Kakashi-sensei!" he told Teuchi then quickly exited the establishment only to see two Konohamarus outside waiting for him, "So you finally got Kage Bunshin down..."

Kakashi, Sai, and Sakura all joined him moments later after taking care of the bill.

"Huh? What's going on?" Sakura said when she noticed Naruto and two Konohamarus facing each other from a distance as if about to battle.

"ALRIGHT! Now lets see how much better you've gotten! COME ON!" Naruto said, encouraging Konohamaru.

"YOU'RE ON NARUTO-NIICHAN!!!" Konohamaru yelled back. "DOUBLE KNOCKOUT GIRLS!" In a cloud of smoke, Konohamaru transformed himself and his clone into two naked females. Both were over 18 body-wise, had enormous breast, and perfectly shaped bodies. One had dark hair, while the other had blonde hair. They were also hugging each other as if about to engage in sexual activity.

Naruto immediately reacted excited; almost like Jiraya the first time Naruto had performed the Sexy No Jutsu for him. His eyes just about burst out of his head, his cheeks turned pink, and he was smiling so hard from excitement "WHOOOOOA!!!! WHAT A GAME PLAN!"

Sai watched unaffected, while a teardrop formed on Kakashi's temple. However, Sakura reacted as if she had witnessed something completely vulgar. Which she did in this case. She was disgusted by their idea of fun. Her eyes were enormous, there were no pupils anymore, and she was twitching angrily. She marched towards Konohamaru.

Naruto recovered from the lose of composure a moment ago, while Konohamaru changed back, "How's that, Naruto-niichan?! That was two girls about to-GYAH!"

Sakura had finally reached her target and nailed Konohamaru directly in the chest, "No need to go any further..." she then yelled back at Naruto, "IS THIS ALL YOU TWO DO WHEN YOU MEET UP?! HUH?!"

"No...This jutsu can work as a diversion...and you could call it a...serious battle between two people..."

Konohamaru was glaring at Sakura for ruining their fun, but Sakura failed to notice. Her veins were pulsating out of her forehead from rage, and angrily warned him, "Don't even think about going any further! You pair of pervy Ninjas!!!" As if mocking them, "Diversion? You're the only ones who'd fall for a jutsu like that!!!"

It was then the idea came to Konohamaru. He made his hands into the seal and transformed yelling, "DOUBLE KNOCKOUT GUYS!"

Sakura was forced back from excitement, her eyes snapped open, cheeks turned pink, and blood freely came out of her nose. It was an identical reaction to Naruto's moments before when it was two girls instead of two guys, "KYAAAA!!!! WHAT A GAME PLAN!" Sakura yelled happily. Before her was a naked Sai and Sasuke about to engage in sexual activity.

Kakashi once again had the comical teardrop, and Sai immediately recognized the people, "Ah! It's me and Sasuke-kun!" It obviously had no effect on him. It did however affect Naruto; he reacted like Sakura did when he had seen the two naked girls. He was enraged by the sight before his eyes.

"OH!" though Sakura had enjoyed the scene, she was snapped out of it once Naruto had taken his turn in marching over to Konohamaru and nailing him directly on the top of the head. This caused Konohamaru to change back. Naruto then proceeded to warn him saying, "DON'T DO CREEPY THINGS LIKE THAT!"

Sakura had turned completely red and held her cheeks hoping to cover the reaction. She decided to quickly act as if nothing had happened, "Y-Yeah...Don't just do useless jutsu like that. You should practice more useful..." though her voice trailed off as soon as she noticed the four males staring at her, two of which were smiling sinisterly.

"HEY...WHAT?!" she said completely shocked, then realizing they had seen her reaction and probably thought of her as a pervert. She attempted to persuade them otherwise, "NO NO! That's not what I'm into at all..." but that was a failing argument.

Konohamaru congratulated himself for revealing her perverted side, "Hm...Looks like you're just like us after all..." This however resulted in a beating from Sakura for what he had done.

Once everything had settled down, Kakashi informed them that they would be having the day off tomorrow, and that they should all rest. Sakura who had enough of this humiliation left saying she had to go speak with Tsunade-sensei, Kakashi accompanied her saying he forgot to include a bit of information to Tsunade. This gave him his opportunity to leave so he could go reread Make-out Paradise. Sai slowly followed suit, saying goodbye and going home to finish one of his art pieces. This left Konohamaru and Naruto in front of the ramen bar.

Though Konohamaru was young, he wasn't oblivious like other fellow members of the Konoha genin division. When everyone was definitely out of earshot, he turned to his adult influence, "Naruto-niichan, Sakura-neechan's reaction to me doing the 'Double Knockout Guys' was just like your reaction when I did the 'Double Knockout Girls.' She acts just like one of us."

Naruto sternly looked down at him, he had twitched at the mention of 'Double Knockout Guys,' but then calmly chuckled, "We did both hit you too, huh?" he said absentmindedly then became more serious, "Just don't ever do something that creepy again. No matter how tempted you are."

"Are you and Sakura-neechan dating?"

"W-WHAT?!" That was completely out of the blue. He hadn't expected the boy to ask such a question based on trivial things, "N-No, we have just known each other for a really long time. What gave you that idea?"

"Asuma always said that when two people act so much alike it's because they have known each other for so long. He said those people would probably get along the best when they date, and that sometimes when they go back to where they first began it helps them realize it."

"Asuma always had good advice when it came to these things. Yes, Sakura-chan and I have known each other for a really long time, but we aren't dating. I had a really big crush on her when I was younger, but we're really good friends now," it was as if he were lying to himself, "You and your friends act similar, don't you?"

"Yeah," Konohamaru responded, thinking about his actions as well as his friends, "We have the same likes too!"

"Right!"

"But-"

"Huh?" Naruto cut him off.

"It's different! Naruto-niichan, it's not the same. Sakura-neechan wasn't as happy when you were gone, but when you came back she changed."

"Eh? Changed?"

Konohamaru nodded his head rapidly with excitement as he beamed a smile towards Naruto-niichan, "Sakura-neechan is always smiling around you, except when you say something about her strength. When she heard you came back she got really excited for the first time in months. Oh, she is scarier too." It was the best way he could think of describing her actions, however he meant them earnestly.

Naruto chuckled at the last comment. He remembered certain occasions where he called her monstrously strong only to have her demonstrate her strength on him. He really liked Sakura-chan, and is comfortable with her. However, he wasn't going to push her into anything she didn't want nor would he interfere with her feelings for Sasuke. He felt like he had stabbed his heart again with the next words, yet still smiled when he said them, "Sakura-chan likes Sasuke. No matter what happens, I made her a promise to get him back, and I don't go against my words. It's my way of the Ninja," he said firmly, as he smiled down towards Konohamaru. "I will protect those feelings."

Konohamaru was skeptical about what Naruto had just said, but he wasn't going to press the subject any further. Besides, he had to gather his comrades soon and be on his way. He had done his part here. "If you say so, Naruto-niichan. I bet you can't top my techniques! I've beaten you at your own game!"

"WHAT?! WATCH THIS!"

The two continued to try and outmatch the other before Konohamaru had to leave saying he had to be at home. Naruto also headed home, happy that in the end he was still able to beat Konohamaru. Though Konohamaru and Naruto had gone their own separate way from the group, Kakashi and Sakura also had an interesting discussion as they headed to see Tsunade briefly.

"Sakura, it was very noble of you to try and help Naruto," Kakashi had told Sakura.

"Uh...Thank you, Sensei," how was she suppose to react to that statement? She had no idea he had seen what she did for it was before he had entered the ramen bar.

"Remember though, people change over the years though they may still act the same on the top. It seems as if you and Naruto have come to understand each other much better than anyone else," he gave her a smile, "Remember to read underneath the underneath," then vanished with a puff of smoke.

She stopped walking and looked at where Kakashi-sensei had been just seconds ago as if confused by his words of advice. Didn't he say he was going to go see Tsunade-sama too? And yes, he had told team 7 the phrase before, but why reiterate it now? Why was the damn scene from the hospital replaying for the fiftieth time in her head that day? It was dominating any other thoughts she would normally be having, and she didn't have time to go to the library again. This wasn't fair!

She soon reached Tsunade's office, "Tsunade-sama, you wanted to see me?"

"Yes, bring Naruto here in two days. I was expecting to be more prepared to speak with you, but my contact has yet to get back to me. That is all, good night." With that, Sakura left the room and headed back home. It was very odd of Tsunade-sama to not be prepared like that.

The moment Sakura left the room, Tsunade looked out the window to make sure she had gotten onto the streets before she stated, "Okay, everyone please come in. We need to discuss this mission."

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**Hehehehe, who is coming in? What happens now that Sakura isn't talking to Tsunade? The next chapter will catch up with the beginning.**

**Please read the story and give feedback. I don't care if it is flames, criticism, or positive feedback. However, please be respectful and don't leave me some stupid comment such as "I don't like this couple." Okay, why are you reading it? However, if you say something like that, but also comment the plot, story, writing style as well as mentioning you don't like the couple, then by all means. I accept pretty much any feedback. Okay, now here is the question: Should it be Neji and Hinata or Kiba and Hinata? I like both, but I would like to know how those reading the story feel about it. Until next time!**


	2. Goodnight, Sweet Dreams

**I blame the end of this chapter on Philosophy. When I was writing it, for some reason one of the enriching activities my philosophy professor decided to grace us with stuck with me when writing this chapter. So I decided to incorporate it into this fanfiction so others can suffer as well. Oh, I have experienced something similar, so it isn't like I pulled this out of nowhere. Anyway, oh how I love the headaches after my philosophy class...NOT!!!**

**Okay, now that I'm done ranting, on to the story aspect. This will complete the circle. It links back up with the teaser in the first chapter, even though it is written slightly different. It should move a bit faster than the first chapter, though I don't really know since I have been editing it for like a week now. If this is confusing near the end, no worries, it was intended. I hope I didn't disappoint anyone with this chapter. Thank you to everyone for adding me or the story as a favorite or put it on their alert! I am eternally grateful to everyone who left a comment as well, because it made me work faster - ON WITH THE DISCLAIMER!!!**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto! I don't own the Manga! I don't own the Anime! I'm not the creator! The scenes from the manga are not mine nor will they ever be. They belong to Shonen Jump, and their creator. I'm too lazy to go look it up, but it belongs to them. Some of the ideas are probably not original, but I have no way of finding out who came up with them in the first place. I'm simply borrowing the characters and ideas to make my own plot. Yes folks, the storyline is mine. As in the order of events and such are coming out of my mind. _**

**Hope you enjoy this, ON WITH THE CHAPTER!!!**

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Gratification

Chapter 2: Goodnight, Sweet Dreams

Naruto had finally reached his house after finishing his battle with Konohamaru. It had been sunset when he left. He turned on the light as he entered the dark apartment, and decided he should lie on the bed staring at the ceiling for a little in his room. He would normally be practicing or trying to learn new jutsu even though he was injured. Maybe a few one-armed push-ups would satisfy that need as well as using a little more charka. He quickly created six clones, and instructed them on what to do. He had three clones perform fifty one-armed push-ups while the other clones walked up and down the side of the wall. He smiled, if it hadn't been for Kakashi-sensei he would have never known about this training style. This allowed him to walk around his tiny apartment hoping to think of something to do. Instead he just ended up sitting back upon his bed a few minutes later.

He glanced over at the team photo from when he was twelve. It felt so long ago. His thoughts slowly drifted back to the conversation he had earlier with Konohamaru.

'_Sakura-neechan is always smiling around you, except when you say something about her strength. When she heard you came back, she got really excited for the first time in months. Oh, she is scarier too,_' the younger ninja had said.

'Is it true? Did Sakura-chan change that much?' He could understand she physically changed, but she still beat him up for menial things once in a while. Normally it was some quirky comment he had said that she disagreed with. He remembered the first time they had seen each other after two and a half years. She nearly killed him with the punch that sent him twenty or thirty yards back, because she didn't agree with him showing his new sexy no jutsu technique to Konohamaru. Yes, it was perverted and inappropriate, but in essence it always got her attention. He snickered as he remembered the look on Konohamaru, Udon, Moegi, and Jiraya's face.

"Okay, what should we do now?" asked one of the clones on the ground, as three clones jumped away from the wall.

"Hmmm...Sit-ups?" One suggested to his fellow clones. The other five nodded, and they continued the exercise.

The real Naruto lay back down on his bed, and allowed his mind to imagine the various things he would never do. He wondered what it would be like if Sakura-chan and him were to not just date anymore, but become much more intimate. He was curious to know what her lips felt like, what it would be like to cuddle with her, or even for her to be on top of him...

He shook his head viciously. The last thought seemed to hit a few cords, for his body felt extremely hot now. It is natural to think about the person one is always around as more than a friend, especially if they are the opposite gender. However, this particular visualization was a little more than he could handle. He looked over at his clones; all three of them were love struck and drooling slightly while they did the exercise. Naruto felt a sweat drop roll down his temple, 'I forgot they feel what I feel.'

Even though it was only his imagination, he felt like she had really been on top of him for a split second. This would explain the reaction by his clones. He decided wandering around Konoha for a little would flush the thoughts out. He grabbed his jacket and put it on, but realized he had difficulty with his cast, so he left part of it out in front of his body instead of putting it through the sleeve. He made his clones disperse and felt his real body become a little more exhausted before he opened the window to leave. For some reason he felt like he had one particular place he had to visit. He realized it once he had jumped out his window..._'back where they first began,' _were the only words that came to mind as the cool night breeze brushed his face...

* * *

Sakura had reached her house somewhat exhausted. It was night now, and all she wanted was to be alone in her room. She told her parents she was going to sleep early only to gaze out her window at the rooftops of Konoha. The gentle wind was refreshing and the moon was full. No need for an external light source. 

'What did Tsunade-sama want to talk about? Why am I to bring Naruto in two days?' It was unlike her sensei to be unprepared as well as uninformative. However, something about tonight felt different.

"**It was a night like this when Naruto and you took on Kakashi-sensei and got the bells,"** her inner self stated.

Sakura continued to look out the window, 'Naruto...What is this feeling?' she asked herself. She finally remembered why this night bothered her so much, "Sasuke-kun..."

She remembered clearly how she had attempted so feebly to make him stay. In her futile attempt to stop him, she had reminded him of the earlier days. Her words did absolutely nothing...his did everything.

Though they did talk for a decent amount of time, only certain sentences still remained somewhat clear._ 'Up until now, we've done everything as a group. But there is something else...I must do...Deep inside my heart, I've already decided on revenge...For that reason only, do I live...I'll never be like you or Naruto,' _he had told her.

Come to think of it, she never did want to be seen the same as Naruto. She had seen it as almost an insult until the chunnin exams. Before that time he was her enemy. The reason everything ended up horribly between her and Sasuke-kun. Now though, maybe it wasn't so bad to be with Naruto. She was happy to be his partner for the most part.

'_I...love you with all my heart!!!' _she remembered yelling at Sasuke's back. Tears freely streaming down her eyes at that point.

She did say other things to Sasuke, but nothing apparently went through. He had his own goal he was going to fulfill, and due to extensive studying she now understood whom he was going after and why. As she continued to remember, it amazed her how four words had shattered her.

'_You really are...annoying.'_

Those words alone showed how nothing had ever changed between them. Maybe he was doing it to protect her. She had often contemplated those thoughts. Trying to keep her away so she wouldn't be tangled in this mess. She remembered how Naruto had failed to bring Sasuke-kun back; she too had almost left her home village. Except Naruto had saved her with his commitment. He had completely prevented her from going anywhere without him.

She chuckled slightly at the thought of Naruto, 'I was foolish, and so was Naruto. I was wiling to give up everything for Sasuke-kun, but...' she felt ashamed of the childish thoughts she had back then, though she did brighten up, 'Naruto was ready to help me... and I couldn't leave the village by myself to search for Sasuke-kun...'

She smiled hopelessly towards the sky, 'Sasuke-kun...I still love you with all my heart...' She lowered her head slightly; she thought she had seen a figure jump above the rooftops then fall back towards the ground in the distance. She went back to her thoughts since the figure did not reappear after a few moments.

'Naruto always did his best to help me. I want to help him by...continuing to protect him and his dream...I will protect them both this time,' she promised herself.

Once again the same figure jumped above the rooftops and floated down, it was not too far from the first place she had seen it. Either way, the person had come from the same area Naruto lived. Could it be?

Sakura made her way out to the balcony. '_Read underneath the underneath..._' Why had Kakashi repeated that particular phrase to her anyway? For the third time she saw the figure rise above the rooftops and float down. This time however, she got a much better look. It was Naruto! The spiky, blond hair and orange, black jacket gave it away. The reason she didn't recognize it immediately was due to his right arm being in the sling and tucked under his jacket. It made his figure look bulkier.

Naruto landed on a rooftop this time, and started running along it. Sakura watched as her partner tripped on something and face planted onto the roof. Unfortunately for Naruto, he had fallen on an animal. Sakura assumed it to be a cat, because a loud "Meowrrr" echoed throughout the night when Naruto had fallen. She watched as the cat attacked Naruto by biting into his free arm and wrapping its paws around the arm as means of hanging on. Sakura assumed the cat had forced its claws into his arm, because it looked as if Naruto's eyes blew up to be as big as tennis balls. She heard a loud a shriek of pain as she saw him shake his arm furiously, attempting to get it to let go. After succeeding in getting revenge, the cat had let go only to go flying onto another building nearby. Naruto immediately took action in running away, holding in the pain and whining about the "Stupid cat!"

Sakura doubled over laughing, barely breathing from the intensity. 'There is no doubt about it. That's Naruto.' When she finally calmed down, she thought about it more thoroughly. 'What is he doing so late at night? We aren't supposed to be out so late. No, I shouldn't follow him. He obviously has something to do,' she thought to herself.

"**BAKA NARUTO! What is he up to?! He should be resting right now! HE ISN'T GOING TO GET AWAY!" **her inner self said, sparking her curiosity.

'It wouldn't hurt to see what he was up to as long as I keep my distance...' with that thought in mind, she took off in his direction with the intent of not being detected.

* * *

Naruto had soon reached the first training ground where team 7 had been formed. This was also the same place where Sakura and him had to battle Kakashi-sensei for the bells both times. 

Sakura took great care in hiding herself in the trees nearby, far enough so she wouldn't be seen, heard, or smelled. She watched him as he went near the three pillars in the middle of the training ground. She remembered their first battle as a team. So many things had changed since then.

Naruto approached the pillar and extended his left arm to touch it. He stood there for a moment as if absorbing the wood in front of him. He chuckled softly at his thoughts. He had changed significantly from the loud-mouthed idiot he was before, contrary to what Sakura-chan said. He glanced over to the pillar where the younger Sakura-chan had sat that day years ago. To him, she was just as attractive and probably even more beautiful to him than before, though it wasn't just her looks or brains that attracted him it was the entire package. He then glanced over to the other pillar where Sasuke had sat. His face turned from that of happiness to remorse. 'Why couldn't I have been strong enough to stop you?'

"Naruto..." she said softly. Something about the scene before her felt lonely. She jumped down from the tree, her hiding spot, and approached him, "Naruto!" she yelled to get his attention. She froze for a moment as she watched him rotate towards her. 'What did I just do? I didn't even want to be seen by him.' She had done everything up to that point on instinct. 'Shannaro! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!'

"S-Sakura-chan?!" Naruto said, shocked and confused as he looked at her, "Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"You're the one who should be asleep! You need to rest so your body can heal faster!" she retorted.

"I-I'm sorry, Sakura-chan," he said sincerely raising his injured left arm up in defense, smiling as he said nervously, "I didn't feel like sleeping or training. I felt like I should come here," though part of it was a lie, because if she hadn't shown up he probably would have started training again.

Sakura was almost shocked for she had similar feelings of coming here. Something about the place had drawn both of them to it. She wasn't going to tell Naruto that though.

"I'm gonna stay out here for a while," he said, hoping she wasn't going to tell him to go back.

"Geez," she said, "someone has to watch you to make sure you don't try to train, or sneak off to go seriously battle Konohamaru," she said sarcastically.

He smiled at her knowing she was trying to take care of him, "Hehe, what gave you that idea, Sakura-chan?" He gave her the same smile that had caught her off guard from the hospital earlier that day. It radiated indescribable warmth that found its way into her heart.

Within minutes, Naruto was laying on the soft grass next to Sakura. He had put his left arm behind his head to act as a cushion while the wrapped arm rested on his stomach inside the jacket. She soon sat next to him on the cool ground, inches away from him. Her heart scratched the inside of her chest as if it wanted to create a hole to get out and explain itself to Naruto. They sat quietly, both looking at the stars. It was a nice feeling knowing that no words had to be spoken. She glanced over at him to see his complacent smile. The full moon was glimmering overhead, and the night was calm. Her eyes had now focused on his lips...she had the sudden urge to know what they felt like.

"**YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO KISS HIM!"** Sakura twitched as her inner self ruined the peaceful moment. **"It's your dream to kiss a guy under a full moon... away from everything else...the romantic feel!"**

'W-WHAT?! When the hell did I have that dream?!'

"Yesterday."

'Oh...'

A few seconds later, the dream came out of her stored memory and into her conscious memory, she then realized what it was, 'WAIT! IT WAS WITH NARUTO IN THAT DREAM!'

"**Exactly! Do you remember anything else?"**

She blushed feverishly at the next thoughts. The Naruto in her dream had only been half dressed leaving his torso exposed to her. She had been with Sasuke-kun for the majority of that dream, but Naruto had come and made him disappear.

"I thought so," it said curtly.

The real Naruto thankfully broke the discussion within herself, "Sakura-chan," he said quietly.

She shook her head to clear the thoughts then looked at him, realizing it was something serious he wanted to share. "Yes, Naruto?

Naruto continued, "Sakura-chan, I won't break my promise to you. It is my way of the ninja."

She instantly looked away as she could feel her smirk dissolve into a grimace. It was her love for Sasuke, and her failure to stop him that caused so much pain.

"Naruto…" she said as her voice trailed off. She couldn't tell him how she really felt; it would be almost cruel to say she wanted him to give up on Sasuke now. It was almost not worth him going after Sasuke since she had seen the results as an adult. There was only one change she could think of.

"I'm changing your promise to me." Naruto stared at her blankly, she continued, "Naruto, I told you this already. **Together** we are going to get Sasuke-kun back. I want to be with you."

Naruto, stunned, contemplated those words. '_I want to be with you,_' that was something she didn't say everyday. Also when did she say the other words to him? He racked his brain, trying to dig up the sentences. He finally remembered it was around the time they had lost to Sasuke, on the trip back home.

She looked away again and attempted to calm herself. 'Shannaro! Why did I say that?' Once again the same scene from the hospital popped into her head, "But…please," she started, "Don't use that jutsu anymore, it comes with too high a risk like Kakashi said. It was the arm you used this time, but next time it may be worse."

He smiled at her momentarily. She thought he was going to spit out some arrogant phrase before he slowly sat up and looked at her; taking in all her features. Multiple ideas of what to say and do popped into his head at that moment, only one idea stood out to him. He could easily tell her not to worry, or that he would never use the Jutsu again, but it would be rather difficult. It would be the most ineffective way of dealing with her. Naruto hesitated for a moment, but then moved his body closer to hers...They were barely half an inch apart from each other now.

"Sakura-chan, My-" he began, but was cut off.

"If I lose you too...I don't know what I would do, Naruto..." Even though she didn't look at him as she brought her legs up to her chest, and wrapped her arms around them, she could feel a warm, thankful feeling emitting from him.

Though part of him was slightly shocked from her words, Naruto continued with a much happier tone than before, smiling at her as if nothing was wrong, "What are you saying, Sakura-chan? You won't lose me. My body can handle this, and with this jutsu we can get closer to Sasuke faster...But," he said as he looked down at this arm. He smiled for he could feel where she touched it earlier. "If it weren't for you, Sakura-chan, I wouldn't be here right now. Your strength is what gave me courage to keep going. After all, you make me happiest." He looked back at her and cocked his head with a genuine smile plastered across it. She had finally looked at him only to regret the action.

Her cheeks began to burn as her heart throbbed and muscles tensed. It was as if the sensation invaded her whole body in seconds. She felt giddy and taken aback by his statement, 'should I let go of Sasuke-Kun? No! Sasuke-kun is mine! Ino-Pig isn't going to beat me! But, why am I having the same feelings for Naruto as I did Sasuke-kun...WHAT AM I SAYING?!' She had a strange urge to hit Naruto for putting her into the situation. However, at least one side was happy. Her inner self was bouncing around her head, "**YAY! HE'S DOING IT FOR ME!"  
**

Naruto looked back up at the moon. It is beautiful, however not in comparison to his partner sitting next to him. He reflected on his thoughts for a moment. "I know this probably sounds like Fuzzy-brows, but I will protect you with my life." He suddenly felt something tender and moist pressed against his right cheek trembling slightly. It took him a few seconds to realize what was happening.

Sakura had leaned towards him and kissed his cheek. She was still holding herself, yet she rested her head on his shoulder still slightly shaky, "You big idiot..." Every shade of red was displayed on her face.

He looked at her completely stunned, unable to grasp what had just occurred. 'Sakura-chan...just...kissed...just...kissed...m-my...CHEEK!!!' He turned as bright red as a tomato, and fell backwards to collide with the ground. He could die at that moment and never feel regret about anything.

Since Sakura had been leaning on his shoulder, she too went down with him. Though she was unsure of what to do, she continued to lie upon his right shoulder, curled up, and comfortable with the position. It was as if his body was a match she had just lit. She was no longer cold for this newfound heat acted like a blanket. She found herself closing her eyes, breathing deeply, and getting closer to falling asleep.

It took a while for Naruto to calm down his body. Not just from the kiss on the cheek, but also due to her laying down upon his right shoulder. He didn't touch her, but kept his arm resting on his stomach, while the other rested by his side. As he watched the stars above, he couldn't help but wish for one simple thing. 'Please don't let this end.'

He felt his eyelids become heavy as he listened to her steady breathing. Feeling the warmth on his shoulder was all he needed this night. He began relaxing, breathing deeper with each breath. He felt his body completely relax. Tonight he would sleep happily. He thought they had both fallen asleep until he felt the body on his shoulder shift. He lifted his head to investigate her sudden movements, and found her face directly in front of his inches away. Her arms were on both sides of his head to prevent him from rolling away, and her legs entwined with his to restrict his movements. She was completely on top of him.

'When did she...' he thought to himself.

It felt awkward to Naruto for the girl on top of him had loved Sasuke with all her heart, yet here she was on top of him moments after kissing his cheek. He was in an awkward situation, and was running out of time to think seeing as her head started to lower towards his.

By her loving him as more than a friend, his training for the past two and a half years to save Sasuke would count for nothing. How did she know if this was what she really wanted? He couldn't go through with this, it wasn't right to steal her away. What if they didn't work out either? It was too much for him to lose her. He didn't care if he had to be just a friend forever. As long as she was around him then it didn't matter if nothing more ever happened.

"Wait, Sakura-chan," she stopped mere centimeters from his face perplexed.

"Yes, Naruto?"

He looked away ashamed. He was so close to getting what he wanted more than anything in Konoha, or it was at least on equal footing as becoming Hokage. His mind was about to blow out of his skull, heart racing around his chest; at least he didn't have stomach problems this time. Yet he couldn't bring himself to obtain his own inner desires that were insanely close to coming true at that moment. "Sakura-chan, I can't do it. "

He felt her continue to look at him as if burning a hole through his temple. He continued, "Its like you said! I can't lose you too! I-Is...t-this what you really want?"

He watched her from the corner of his eye lower her mouth to his ear, and knew she pressed her breast against his chest, securing his injured arm between them, "It is because of the bonds we formed when we were younger, my trials and errors at trying to get Sasuke-kun's affection, and our missions together as Team Kakashi that made me realize my feelings for you. You are what's most important to me."

Naruto's eyes widened and he jerked his head to look back at her. He never knew his imaginations would come true. '...Sakura-chan likes me...'

"Our training wasn't for nothing," she finished as she closed the gap between their heads, pressing her lips against his as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Unknown to Sakura and Naruto, 3 genin sat in a tree not too far away. They had watched the whole exchange of affection; how Sakura had kissed Naruto's cheek then proceeded to lie down upon his right shoulder. They were flabbergasted.

As they looked at each other, they all spoke at once, "EWWWW!" at least that was their feelings towards the display of affection seeing as they were only 12-13 years old.

"Sakura-neechan really does like Naruto-niichan. Go Naruto-niichan!" said one of the male genin.

"I thought she liked Sasuke-kun. He was so cool!" said the only female genin.

"Keep it down! If we're found then the whole mission is a failure," the other male ninja said.

"We still know what we need to know."

"That's not the point! We don't want to fail the mission, Hokage-sama won't be happy if we're caught. She told us no one is allowed to know about this."

"You mean Granny Tsunade? Eh? What does she know? Besides, they don't look like they know what's going on around them. At least once they laid down."

"We gotta respect her, Konohamaru. She is the Hokage."

"That old hag never gives us any good missions. It's always just D-rank missions."

"Knock it off! Lets finish collecting data so we can report to her everything tomorrow morning," the female ninja said, trying to silence both of them.

"If you think about it, she did let us go without Ebisu-sensei. Even though this may be considered a D-rank mission, she said she would count it as B-rank pay."

"Does this mean she may move us up to C-Rank missions?"

"It is a possibility now since it seemed like an important mission."

As if she had been restraining herself the whole time, the female ninja blurted out "I don't want to be a real woman anymore!" Her two teammates looked at her blankly, unable to think of a response to the unusual comment.

Ignoring the comment, the three genin continued to discuss their opportunity of a promotion. However, one other thing caught their attention.

"Whoa! Look...Sakura-neechan...she..." the female ninja said alerting her two teammates.

"We need to report that to Hokage-sama. I'm sure she would want to know about that..."

"Yeah, that old hag better have something good for us to do after we report this cra-" Konohamaru was cut off by his two teammates covering his mouth and strangling him. They were both watching the rest of the exchange with their jaws dropped.

It was as if 10,000 fireworks had gone off in Naruto's head at the touch of her lips. He thought he was hallucinating. Everything was happening so fast. Upon realizing what Sakura-chan was doing, he removed the arm between them, and wrapped it around her waist, succumbing to her wishes. Her lips were tender and moist, and he could still taste the remnants of the ramen they had earlier. He could feel her mouth parting, and her tongue slipping through. He decided to engage in the activity and allow her access into his mouth. What caused Naruto to become completely aroused was when she ran her fingers through his blond hair as if she were combing it. He moved his uninjured hand to her lower back to slip them under her shirt, but decided against it. He didn't want to scare her off immediately, so he decided to keep his hand on her lower back; however he could feel himself become firm down below. Her thigh just happened to be pressed against it.

Naruto kept his eyes closed, he knew she pushed herself up. He opened them when he heard her giggle nervously. "You were Sasuke-kun's first kiss, and now you're my first kiss as well."

"Thanks Sakura-chan," he said sarcastically then more seriously, "Be happy your first kiss wasn't accidentally with someone the same gender as you."

He watched as she smiled down at him, and then closed the gap once again. As they continued to kiss, Naruto couldn't quite figure out who should be on top. At first he had been on the bottom, but that didn't last long since he forced Sakura-chan to roll to the side so he could move on top of her and passionately kiss her. Using that momentum though, Sakura easily pushed him towards the same side he had pushed her and pinned him down to kiss him.

"Sakura-chan…" he murmured as he sat up slowly, keeping her in his lap. This solved the struggle for dominance. He lifted her chin and leaned forward, kissing her softly on the lips. They were perfect like everything else about her. He then tilted her chin down to kiss her forehead. This moment for Naruto was almost a drawback. Though he enjoyed having Sakura-chan on him, kissing him, loving him...he could feel as if something was different. As if everything was almost too perfect to be true and there was something wrong with this whole scene.

"Sakura-chan, is this what you want?" he asked again. He watched her pause for a moment, and look down towards the center of his chest.

It felt like an eternity of silence. Not liking the awkward feeling he had just created, Naruto tried to divert her attention. "It is rather cold out tonight, and I don't want to see you get sick," he said as he unzipped his jacket, removed it and placed it around her. She didn't respond, almost as if still in an unbreakable trance.

"It looks like it's about to rain too," Naruto said absentmindedly. It had been clear when they got there, but slowly the dark clouds had drifted their way.

He thought she was about to say something in response to his statement, but instead she murmured, "I love you." Naruto almost didn't catch it himself except his cheeks burned, and his stomach felt like it shot up into his chest, caught his lungs, and took away his breath. He jerked his head down to look into her emerald eyes only to see them looking into his.

Automatically, she grabbed onto his shirt and leaned backwards. To prevent himself from being pulled completely on top of her, Naruto extended his arms to catch himself so he hovered about a foot above her upper body while his lower body rested on top of hers. She still held his shirt.

"Sakura-chan-" but she had cut him off by pulling him down and kissing him. Naruto enjoyed the kiss. Every time that night they had kissed he felt as if something within him eased a little more. Like some vicious beast was finally settling. Even though his body was easing, he had the feeling of her becoming progressively farther away.

It finally began to rain as the drops came down and had no effect on his body. He couldn't even feel them, but he could see them landing everywhere around Sakura and himself. He didn't mind this rain; it only made everything about the situation better. However, he didn't like it when she slowly pushed him up, but her words made up for it.

"I don't want to be separated from you."

Naruto grinned at those words. "Would you like to come back with me then?" Naruto could feel red alerts going off everywhere in his head, and immediately added, "I-I don't mean to...we're too young to-Uh-Um...share a bed, Sakura-chan. I mean-uh-"

Naruto felt her index finger against his lips to silence him. "I don't feel like going home tonight. I want to go back with you."

Shocked but still functional, Naruto detached himself from her to stand up, and then offered her his one good hand. She grabbed hold and he pulled her straight into a one armed embrace. Her head seemed to fit right in the nook of his neck. He rotated his head to whisper into her ear.

"If that is what you wish, Sakura-chan," he said. They walked hand in hand through the rain towards his lonely apartment.

The three genin had left the area as well. However, there was one left no one had noticed. A female chunnin with white eyes and long blackish, blue hair. She had been crying the majority of that night. Mostly when Sakura had kissed Naruto's cheek. Due to the Byakugan, she was able to stay much farther away from her fellow ninjas. She had watched her crush finally gain some acceptance from his teammate. A part of her felt like it had been shattered while the other was genuinely happy for him. However, from the ending she had seen, there was still hope for her to acquire his feelings, though she had no idea how to go about it. She slowly stood up from her hiding place.

"Naruto-kun...I-I'm...I'm not giving up," then left the scene to head home. She would express her feelings to him tomorrow, though she didn't know how since she was too shy.

* * *

**Since there are people supporting both KibaHina as well as NejiHina, I have another question that should be a better indication of how I should go about with the minor couples. Okay, I know some of you are thinking I just totally went against what I said earlier about going OOC, no worries, I realize I did. Yes, it was intentional. Damn philosophy. Anyway, I'm pretty much trying to open up the story here. There are so many things I can do from this point, as well as so many things I need to put in the next chapter. I'm hoping to explain the end of this chapter with the next chapter. Okay, to save some time, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. The end of the chapter question is: Should it be Lee and Tenten or Neji and Tenten?**

**Special thanks to all those listed below for being the firsts to comment on my story:**

**Gouald, dbzgtfan2004, Meca Vegeta, Momochikd, Shintenshin no Jutsu, Dreamergirl92813, Rufos, HeWhoWalksTheEarth, Show.Me.The.Stars, Silver mist cloud, Jho, DrendeSalkash, IronicEnding, Rickp2006, Gnosismaster, Shadow the Hedgehog 07, Lina Granger**

**I hope I was able to reply to all the questions everyone had. Thank you for commenting! Also, I won't answer questions that reveal what will happen in my story. Constructive criticism is definitely nice, but I don't mind flames as long as you have a decent reason. Until the next chapter!**


	3. Chain Reaction: Part 1

**DISCLAIMER: Read the ones in the previous chapters...I think it's pretty damn obvious I don't own Naruto, but the plot is pretty much mine...except the parts that are from the manga...now that we are all in agreement, hope you all enjoy the chapter!  
**

* * *

** Gratification  
Chapter 3: Chain Reaction - Part 1  
**

Warmth. Rays of sunlight beat down upon his body as he lay partially asleep. He was comfortable lying on his back. Soft sounds of chirping came from nearby, though he couldn't quite locate where. On instinct, he rolled to his right side. His body felt slightly numb; almost as if it weren't there. Slowly, he became aware of the world around him through touch. It wasn't the warm comfy feeling from before, but a coarse, cold, prickly feel on his face. This wasn't his pillow!

Though his eyes were still closed, something felt amiss. He slowly began opening his eyes; half expecting to see the color pink as he did. It took him a few moments to interpret his surroundings. He wasn't in his room where he thought he had fallen asleep, and his pink haired teammate wasn't next to him either. He used his left arm to prop himself up, and looked to his right side only to see the three pillars continuing to stand strong. He realized where he was. He continued to scan the area, hoping to see the pink-haired, emerald eyed, curvy figure emerge from a bush or tree.

"...Sakura-chan?" he said hoping for her to appear. She would definitely be able to confirm what had happened hours ago. After a couple minutes of this action he gave up on that hope, and came to terms with his situation.

He sat up completely, "This sucks! I thought I made out with Sakura-chan," he said, thinking aloud as he pouted.

He thought he had fallen asleep in his apartment with the girl of his dreams next to him, and the rain pouring down outside. At these thoughts, he quickly felt the grassy ground as well as his clothes only to find that neither was moist but dry. He also noticed his jacket was still on him, and only unzipped so his wrapped arm could hang out in the front. He remembered a part of the previous night where he had put his arm with the cast on her back, but now realized it was nearly impossible. His arm was still in the sling which would have prevented him from moving it that far.

"Damn it! That was part of my dream too!"

He decided to see if he could recall what really happened. He rested the side of his head on his hand while the elbow dug into the side of his knee. He was sitting cross-legged as he attempted to search his memory.

He understood he never walked to his apartment with or without Sakura. Though the memories were foggy in his head. He also had laid back down, and looked at the stars with her resting on his shoulder. He only really remembered bits and pieces after that point, though he could even be lying to himself about what really happened. She may have never been there. All this thinking was causing him to have a headache.

'This doesn't make sense!' he mentally yelled, 'w-was this all a dream? Was Sakura-chan never here? Everything felt...real...' He couldn't quite explain the realistic part, but he understood why Sakura had said what she did. It was what he wanted, so his mind created it.

As he looked up at the sky, he realized it was early morning. He stood up and stretched to get the blood circulating through his body. There was only one possible way he could conceive to find out what had happened the night before. He began walking towards the entrance of the training grounds.

'I should go find her...' he thought optimistically. She would be able to clarify what happened.

At that moment, his stomach emitted a loud growl just as he exited the training grounds, "But...I'm so hungry..." he whined.

* * *

"I guess I should stop here for now," said the Hokage. The blonde sannin slowly pushed the papers away from where she sat, and took her legs off the desk. She had been leaning back in the chair with her legs up on the desk, enjoying tea, and doing the required paperwork. 

Unsure of how long it would take the three genin to come, Shizune said, "We did tell them to report by 9 o'clock this morning, Tsunade-sama. They still have a couple minutes."

"Bah, I found a good place to stop for now," she said as she leaned back in her chair again. Looking out the window over the village she inquired, "I guess it can't be helped."

"Um...Tsunade-sama, what do you mean?"

"We have trained Sakura for roughly three years now...during that time she has become much stronger." She looked seriously at Shizune, "However, there is one significant change I noticed during the middle of her training. This force became her motivation."

Shizune continued to stare at her as if she misunderstood.

"Though she still has her head wrapped around her lost teammate, Sasuke, who is her childhood crush. It seems the mission with Naruto and Jiraiya prior to her asking me to train her had an effect. It was quite evident during her training."

Shizune nodded, this time comprehending what her sensei was getting at.

"You see, Sakura began to realize it was-"

There was a double knock on the door that interrupted the conversation.

"Come in!" Tsunade commanded as she leaned forward.

The door opened and Kakashi came in followed by Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon. They made their way to the center of the room before Kakashi said, "Good morning, Hokage-sama."

The three genin followed suit, and greeted her as well.

"I assume you have good news," she replied as they smiled, "But before you begin...Jiraiya, I know you have been outside for a while now. When I told them to come in I did mean you as well."

Jiraiya stood up from his hiding spot so he was clearly seen through the window behind her. "Hehe, How did you-" he said cheerily, but was cut off.

"I could smell sake, and I know Shizune doesn't drink. Also I haven't had a drink for quite some time now."

Jiraiya smiled as he jumped through the window, and stood off to the side of her, "Good to see you again too, Tsunade."

Tsunade smiled. Recalling the meeting the night before, she realized she had left a certain question out but merely told them where to go. She continued, "Kakashi! Konohamaru! Did you say your planned lines to Naruto and Sakura?"

"Yes!" both of them responded.

She then looked at the three genin, "Were they both at the training grounds as said?"

All three genin nodded.

"Then explain to us the events that took place last night between Naruto and Sakura."

All three responded, "Yes!" then began to talk all at once; each starting at a different point in the story. Once they realized what was happening, they looked at one another to glare.

"I want to tell the story!" Konohamaru said disgruntled.

"But I tell it better!" Moegi countered.

"But mine is more accurate!" Udon interrupted.

This argument carried on for a minute or two before Tsunade's vein was about to burst from her forehead. She was becoming impatient with the little genin, however she put her arm on the table and leaned against it. 'Such children...I can't believe we are using them,' she glanced over to Jiraiya who looked disgruntled by the brats. Though she had remained quiet, she couldn't tolerate their bickering anymore.

"Knock it off!" the three genin immediately stopped and looked at her, scared as if they had just awoken a gigantic fire-breathing dragon from its sleep. She cleared her throat as if it was never intentional, "We are going to start from one side, and loop through until the whole story is finished."

The three genin stared at her blankly, "Then I get to start!" Konohamaru yelled.

'Kakashi, I am never listening to your suggestions again. Let them go without a sensei...such nonsense,' she sighed then calmly stated, " We will begin with Udon since he is on my right side. Each of you will dictate the next part of the story from where the other left off. Now, please begin with what happened when you first discovered their location."

Udon nodded, and began, "We went where you told us to go, but Konohamaru said he may have said the lines wrong, and that Hokage-sama was just a-"

Konohamaru immediately jumped in, "I said them right! They were there after all."

Being the tolerant person Tsunade is, she nodded before saying, "Continue Udon. We will pass Konohamaru this time since he just took his turn."

Konohamaru crossed his arms and grumbled with disapproval, "That's not fair! He said the wrong thing!"

Tsunade shrugged, "You should have waited then. Continue Udon," she said for a second time.

"When we got there, they were sitting on the ground looking up. We couldn't hear them all that well, but we know that Naruto-niichan said something Sakura-neechan liked."

Moegi continued with the next part, "That was when Sakura-neechan leaned over and kissed Naruto-niichan's cheek. Then pushed him back and-"

Konohamaru burst in once again, "No! Naruto-niichan fell over and Sakura-neechan fell down on him," he said quickly, and then added in, "We waited for about half an hour to make sure they were asleep."

Tsunade twitched and was about you say something to Konohamaru once again until Jiraiya stepped behind her with a smile, bent over slightly so he was close to her ear, and whispered, "Interesting turnout...wouldn't you say Tsunade-hime?"

He then stepped back and smiled with Kakashi. Though Kakashi's smile was hidden, it was still evident since he tilted his head slightly. Tsunade calmed herself, "I see...Is this all that happened?"

"No, Sakura-neechan wasn't asleep," Konohamaru continued.

Moegi then regained control of being storyteller, "Sakura-neechan sat up and smiled at Naruto-niichan, then touched the cast on his arm with both hands. There was some sort of green glow where she touched. A few minutes later, she put her...uh...left arm..." she looked over at Udon and Konohamaru for approval. Both nodded and she continued. "Yeah, her left arm near his shoulder, she was slightly above his body. Then she ran her right fingers through Naruto-niichan's hair a couple times, traced down the side of his face until...until she pressed her finger on his lips. She was smiling."

Udon continued next, "She got closer to his head and stopped about a foot away. We aren't sure, but is sounded like she said 'maybe you will be my first...' or something like that. Then-"

"THAT'S WHEN SHE LEANED DOWN AND KISSED NARUTO-NIICHAN'S FOREHEAD!" for the third time Konohamaru finished the explanation, however this time he was somewhat in turn. "She was so bright red! We could see it from where we were!"

Both Moegi and Udon nodded, "Then she got up and left him there."

Tsunade frowned at this predicament. Though this was good news of what she had previously done, the ending wasn't completely expected. She looked over at Jiraiya and then to Kakashi.

"It seems like we should go with the plan we decided on yesterday. It would be the best out of the other possibilities."

Tsunade nodded in agreement before she turned back to the genin, "For this situation, I have a second mission for you three..." she explained their next act, once again telling them it would be a B-rank mission pay as well as a top secret mission. She explained what needed to happen between the two students, and the specifics as well. Though it was what Jiraiya, Tsunade, Shizune, and Kakashi had decided on, Tsunade had changed it slightly. Jiraiya crossed his arms and turned around dissatisfied at the idea formed by the words she said.

"Naruto isn't the kind of person to let-," Jiraiya began.

"EH?! What did you say?!" Tsunade said angrily as she gave him a threatening glare.

"Nothing...Nothing at all," Jiraiya responded quickly. 'Damn, she gets scary...'

"Then I must have imagined it. Kakashi, do you agree with this change in plan?"

Kakashi's eyes became lazy as if he were annoyed by the question asked. "This does depend on Sakura's interpretation," he thought for a few more moments as to how to escape, "I guess we will see what happens," he then proceeded to pull out Jiraiya's second book and continue rereading it for the fiftieth time. Both Sannins looked at the white fang's son with stoic faces. A teardrop rolled down past both their temples as well.

'You will be the last to receive my next novel, Kakashi, for not supporting me,' Jiraiya concluded.

Shizune, who had remained quiet for the majority of the time finally spoke out, "I think it'll work Tsunade-sama."

"Thank you, Shizune," she then turned back to Jiraiya, "That is two against one."

"Alright! Do what you will."

Looking back at the three confused genin, Tsunade gave the conformation, "Make sure to report back before tonight. We don't have that much time. Am I understood?"

"EH?! BEFORE TONIGHT! That's barely anytime to get ready for-"

"We will be back before dinner," Moegi responded as her and Udon covered Konohamaru's mouth, Udon putting him in a headlock.

"Dismissed!"

The three genin left immediately, making sure to keep Konohamaru's mouth covered until they were out of the room.

"Kakashi!" The white haired ninja who had been waiting patiently responded to her summon. She then continued, "Your mission is to find Shikamaru and have him come here. I would use you, though I think Shikamaru would be a slightly better choice for this."

"Right! Is there anything else I should do, Hokage-sama?"

"That is all for now."

He nodded and left as well.

"Shizune, I need you to take care of this message before you go on your next mission. It is for the sand village, though I am sure they are already aware. I want it delivered as quick as possible."

"Yes!" she too left.

Once the room was cleared, Jiraiya addressed his concerns, "Tsunade, do you really think something like this would work?"

"He trained with you for two and a half years didn't he?"

"Yes, but-"

"Then it does have a good chance of success, does it not?"

Jiraiya sighed. 'Sheesh, such recklessness. Hmm...' He glanced back down at Tsunade quickly, 'Maybe this will be interesting.' Jiraiya's face automatically created his infamous perverted smile at the thought.

"What say we make a bet on this Tsunade? For old times."

There was a few seconds of silence before the storm erupted. "I DON'T MAKE BETS ANYMORE! I'M THE FREAKING HOKAGE!"

She didn't realize she had stood up, but sat back down and crossed her arms, "You know I haven't made any bets since I became Hokage so that I wouldn't prove Naruto right."

Jiraiya chuckled softly, "I remember he called you loose with money, however this is different," he straightened up and placed his hands behind his back, still smiling ear to ear. "Yes, I am well aware of that. We also haven't had sake for a while either," he added absentmindedly. He received another glare from her.

"Get to the point."

"This plan does have the possibility of working properly, though I think the brats will cause it to backfire. You believe in its success more than me. You believe it will work out exactly as you plan it to...Sounds like it would make a decent bet."

After a few moments of silence, Jiraiya thought he had struck a nerve in the Hokage since she responded, "You will pay for my day at the hot springs."

Though Jiraiya didn't like the choice of offering, he couldn't exactly complain, 'Hot springs are expensive...hmm...maybe it's not that bad an idea...' He smiled once again at his thoughts.

She finally looked up at him, "What are you going to bet, you perverted toad hermit?"

His smile only became bigger. He started blushing slightly at the thought, and brought his hands up and pushed his index fingers together, pulled them apart slightly, and then repeated the process, "Spending time alone with you, Tsunade."

After a moment, he added, "I assume one would call this a date."

He felt her gaze become an intense glare. Her eyes also became narrow, and her lips tightened. He thought he was about to die, because her right eyebrow began to twitch which was the last warning signal.

Though Tsunade didn't want to have his winnings be what was just proposed, she couldn't exactly resist the urge. It was unlike her, however the opportunity rarely appeared and old habits die-hard. She knew she would win. "Alright! It's a bet!" she said as she looked away irritated, "So you know, Jiraiya. You will be paying for the whole day. Everything I eat, my use of the hot springs, and all the sake I drink."

"I didn't think you would have it any other way, though it seems regardless of who wins I will be paying. I guess this will determine what it is for."

"We will know by the end of the day won't we?" she added.

"I will be waiting for our time alone together then," he said as he began to leave through the window.

"Jiraiya," Tsunade said as he stopped with one leg already out the window, looking back at her confused, "Naruto is in the process of becoming another you. Hopefully he doesn't inherit all of your perverted qualities."

"And Sakura is definitely becoming a second you, Tsunade-hime," he said as she smirked knowing it was partially true. "However," Jiraiya continued.

"Hmmm?"

"A sensei can learn many things from their student's growth and mistakes."

"Oh? How so?" she said as she looked at him. She knew the answer, yet wanted to hear it from him.

"One needs to let go of the past so they can embrace the future fully," with that, Jiraiya disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Humph, for once he didn't say something completely stupid at the end." Tsunade smiled as she picked up the papers she had been working on earlier and continued.

* * *

When Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon finally reached the street, they realized something extremely crucial. 

"We need to look all over Konoha for Sakura-neechan and Naruto-niichan, but we can't break up into single person groups incase something happens."

After a few minutes of all three thinking, Konohamaru spoke up, "What if I made a bunch of clones like Naruto-niichan and had them search?"

Moegi and Udon both cheered for their leader being able to think of a brilliant idea.

"How many should I make?" Konohamaru asked.

"Lots of clones! We will find them faster," Udon replied.

Konohamaru put his hands together to make the necessary hand sign, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Nine clones appeared out of a cloud of smoke next to him. "Alright! Lets go!"

"Uh...Konoha...maru..." Moegi started, but decided it would just be best if she pointed at the clones next to him instead.

Konohamaru looked over only to have his eyes pop out of his head, and his jaw drop at least a foot. All his clones were on the ground unable to move yet alone stand. "EH?! WHAT HAPPENED?!"

Moegi and Udon sighed as Udon said, "It looks like you're not as good as Naruto-niichan..."

"NO WAY! I'M WAY BETTER THEN NARUTO-NIICHAN! Just wait! I may not be able to do it now, but I will soon!" He made his clones disperse then made the necessary hand signs again, and created a single clone.

"Okay, this way we can at least split up into two groups. I will go with Moegi, and Udon can go with my clone."

Udon and Moegi nodded. "We'll wear the headsets so we can communicate, and your clone won't since it can disappear," Udon added.

They all put their headset on, and adjusted the frequency.

"Okay, so who is going to go look for who?" Moegi asked.

"Hmm...if we find Naruto-niichan first, then Udon and my clone will look for Sakura-neechan," he said, but then added a more logical option, "Or the other way around. It just depends who we find first. However, we'll start by looking for Sakura-neechan."

The other two mindless comrades nodded. They debated where they would search for the time being. Once decided, they took off in opposite directions in search of their older considered siblings.

* * *

"Sakura-san...I mean, Sakura?" 

'Was this a mistake? Why did I say that?'

Sakura couldn't quite decide as she walked towards the entrance to the village to pick up Tsunade's important mail. She had always overlooked Naruto due to her crush on Sasuke. Come to think of it, she had never disliked Naruto for being the Kyuubi container, but mostly due to his attitude and the way he interfered with her love for Sasuke. Well, at least her own ideas of what Naruto was trying to do.

"Uh...Sakura-sa...Sakura? Um..."

It wasn't until Naruto came back did she realize what he meant to her. Deep down he had always tried to protect her and fulfill her wishes. She had always relied on him to change everything, and in return he was a main factor in her strength. Though one other concept had never quite occurred until recently: she had to change for Sasuke, but never Naruto.

"Uh...Sakura-sa...?"

Mildly confused, Sakura turned around to see who had said her name. Sai was standing behind her looking at her unfazed.

"...Huh?" was all the konochi was able to say.

"Uh...you have been standing in the same place for fifteen minutes now..."

It took a few seconds for his words to register in her head until she started freaking out. "EHH?! Wait! Sai, how long have you watched me stand here?!"

"Pretty much the whole time. You didn't move no matter how many times I said your name."

'This is weird,' she had never been so focused on issues when she walked. She tended to just keep going.

"Where are you heading?" she asked Sai, trying to change the subject.

"I was sitting over there finishing up a sketch when you came into the picture and stopped."

"Oh...I'm sorry! I didn't know. I was heading towards the front gate to get Tsunade-sama's mail."

"Do you mind if I join you...S-Sakura?" he asked, making sure he didn't say the suffix again, "I would like to take a break," though that wasn't his only reason. 'Maybe I can understand their bond a little better...'

"Sure, I would enjoy the company," she responded with a smile as they began heading for the front gate.

* * *

Naruto had wandered around most of Konoha, but was still unable to find his teammate, the pink haired kunochi, Sakura. He had happily approached her house in hopes of finding her. 

He knocked on the front door and waited for someone to answer. After repeating the process a couple times, he determined she wasn't home.

'Damn it, now I gotta go look around.' As he began to walk down the street, he noticed her house was on the corner, and it would be possible to climb to the roof of the building across from that side to at least peer in and see if she was home. Though it was a good plan, there were many people around for some odd reason. They were hanging lights and making decorations. Naruto quickly made a clone and had it climb up the side of the building to do his wishes.

The real Naruto calmly walked over to a middle-aged man who looked like he was making another decoration. "Hey, what is everyone setting up for?" he asked.

"Don't you know?!" the man said, taken aback, "It's the Konoha festival! We are also celebrating our alliance with the Sand!"

Naruto couldn't help but smile at those words, 'I didn't think Granny Tsunade would allow this. I completely forgot about the festival with everything going on.'

"When does it start?"

"A couple days from now, kid. Hokage-sama said it'd be the biggest event of the year." He was smiling ear to ear.

Naruto sensed his clone disperse, and he acquired the information it picked up. "Thanks old man! I gotta get going," with that he took off down the street past the other people setting up.

He could hear the man yelling behind him, "OLD MAN?!? WHO'RE YOU CALLIN' AN OLD MAN?!?"

As soon as he was far enough away, he dedicated his thoughts to analyzing what his clone had brought back. Her room had been empty and clean, and her bed was made. However, there were no shoes by the door. He knew it was the right room, because the team picture was on her dresser. He had no way of knowing what would show she had been there or hadn't been there.

'This still sucks...She isn't even at home...and if she left this morning, then she probably wasn't with me at all last night.'

He slowly gave up slightly in finding his partner. Though his stomach may have been growling, he had wandered around most of Konoha looking for her. It was a rarity for him to put something between his wants and needs of ramen. In the end, he continued to just walk around the streets hoping to get to Ichiraku ramen bar before he died.

He finally looked down the street to see two people walking towards him not too far away. One sat upon the top of an enormous dog, while the other walked next to him.

"Yo KIBA! HINATA!" Naruto yelled out and waved to get their attention.

Kiba and Hinata both looked to see who had called. Kiba immediately knew and responded, "YO! Naruto! Whatcha up to?" and waved back. He then jumped off Akamaru so as to be on the same level as Naruto.

Hinata however had a much different response when he finally approached them, "H-Hello, Na-Naruto-kun." She was even more nervous today than she had been previous times, though Naruto once again didn't notice.

"Hey Hinata! How are you doing?"

"G-good. Tha-Thank you, N-Naruto-kun!" She said as she started to sweat slightly. She looked as if she were about to pass out, 'what do I say? I saw everything last night...but...I can't...tell Naruto-kun my feelings in front of Kiba-kun...I wish I never overheard those three children...What do I say...Um...Um...' she couldn't think of anything that would be possible to talk about.

Naruto was the first to speak, "Have either of you seen Sakura-chan anywhere?" Hinata stopped with her thoughts, and immediately felt saddened a little, but smiled anyway and shook her head. She was blushing every shade of red uncontrollably.

Kiba shook his head as well, "Nope, we haven't seen her around."

Naruto made a slight frown, he had hoped they had.

"So how long are you gonna wear that big cast for anyway?" Kiba continued, changing the subject, "Looks like you could use it to knock out other ninjas."

"Hmm...Sakura-chan and Shizune-san said I should be able to get it off today or tomorrow, but I'm probably healed now. Sakura-chan helped me yesterday," he said with a smile.

While Kiba and Naruto talked, Hinata continued to try and calm herself down. Though she was failing miserably, and telling herself 'I can do this! I can do this!' as she prepped herself for the moment she would tell Naruto her feelings. It seemed as if the thoughts of confessing her feelings got the better of her though.

Naruto leaned over and smiled at Hinata as he gave her a wink, "Looks like the double date will have to wait," Kiba blushed so hard at his words.

"What're you talkin' about, Naruto?" Kiba spit out.

"Hehe, you gotta make a move, Kiba," Naruto said jokingly as he nudged his friend.

'So...so...soon?' The last thing Hinata heard was her beloved Naruto, "Eh? Hinata? Are you okay? I was just joking. Hin-...Hinata!?! What's wrong!?!"

"NOT AGAIN! THIS ALWAYS HAPPENS AROUND NARUTO!" Kiba responded, completely flustered, and unable to catch her.

* * *

"YAY! Alright! We finally found Sakura-neechan!" the female genin whispered happily. They had finally found a target, and had resorted to following her down the street while staying on the rooftops out of range. 

The young genin said into his radio. "Have you two found Naruto-niichan?"

A male voice responded, "No, but I don't think it will be that much longer..."

A faint voice was heard in the background moments later, "THERE HE IS!"

"Roger that, we've found him! Now we are hiding in a tree observing his actions. He's talking to an unidentifiable person, and a huge dog. It looks like there is a girl resting on that guy's dog, but she is unconscious."

The other male genin smiled happily, "All right, give us the location! This is gonna work!"

* * *

**Hey! Sorry for the wait. I didn't put anything before the title this time, so people could jump right into reading it. Okay, I realize I probably should have made the last chapter clearer...Ahem, anyway...Now we all know what really happened. Yes, I was planning this all along. (evil laugh) Story aspect: This chapter ended up being a little longer then expected. Thought I should reward those who leave comments, so trust me, I took them into consideration. Believe it! ** -- **Number one phrase I think they should take out of the English dubs. (though it is extremely fun to say!) Also, I realized that this is actually the first part of a 2 chapter sequence. Yes, there isn't much NaruSaku (they don't even meet!), however it would be too long if I put the second part within this chapter. So, even though it wasn't really stated, the next chapter would complete the events in this one. Once again, coming together...for the most part. The next chapter is going to be focusing back onto Sakura and Naruto, because Yes! This is Naruto and Sakura fanfiction! **

(sighs) This is random, but sometimes I wish I could actually draw, but I guess I will just have to do my best to put this idea (Naruto/Sakura Moment) into words in a later chapter. This is where another idea came in and made this chapter longer. Damn. Oh well, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Comments, flames...really any sort of feedback is acceptable and appreciated as long as it isn't something derogatory and without explanation. Yikes! Sorry I don't have a 'couple' question this time. Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter!


	4. Failures and Landings: Part 2

**YAY! Another chapter is up! Hopefully I was able to clarify any confusion left in the reviews with replies as well as pinpoint certain problems within the chapter. I'm still inexperienced as a writer so I got to do the best I can in becoming better. I'm sad that my story may have been a bit confusing, but happy that people were still willing to ask questions. It is good, because I wouldn't have noticed where it might have been confusing otherwise. THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS! They did help out in those respects. I realize that I'm not as clear as I should be sometimes, but hopefully this chapter is an improvement. Anyway, it should clear up certain problems; I did say that there were going to be problems that arise unexpectedly after all.**

**Anyway, Enjoy the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: …read previous ones. I only own the storyline. Characters aren't mine, nor are certain parts used in the story. I don't own Naruto. I just own the plot, or string of ideas I have put together. Maybe this has sunken in by now.**

* * *

**Gratification**

**Chapter 4: Failures and Landings – Part 2**

A tree had grown tall enough that it created a shadow over the short wall next to it. This single tree created shade for Kiba and Naruto to move the unconscious Hinata under, and wait until she regained consciousness again. She had passed out from the shock Naruto had put her through with his statement about a double date. He had been referring to Kiba and her as a pair, though she had taken it as him asking her to go on a double date.

"Looks like it'll be a bit before she wakes up, huh?" Kiba asked, absentmindedly, as he looked down at her. He was smiling gently, taking in all her features.

Naruto nodded and looked over at his friend, "You like her a lot, huh?"

Kiba growled as his cheeks turned a bright red. He nodded to make sure Naruto understood. It was at that moment he picked up an unfamiliar scent, and his nostrils opened wider to inhale the air. He also redirected chakra to his ears, and heard faint voices. He distinctly heard one of them say Naruto's name.

"Hmm..." Kiba looked behind him at the trees, then back at Naruto, "Hey Naruto, can you watch Hinata for a bit?"

"Uh? Sure. What's up?"

"Nothing much. I'll be right back," he then turned to his loyal companion, Akamaru, "Stay here and watch Hinata too, okay?"

Akamaru barked a 'yes' and Naruto nodded, giving his consent. Kiba walked back down the street he came earlier, around the corner of the wall, and out of sight.

"Looks like it's just you and me, Akamaru," Naruto said with a smile before his face scrunched together, "I need ramen." He grabbed his stomach from the pain of hunger, and slowly looked up. He saw the platinum blonde kunochi, and her larger male teammate come out of a building he previously passed, and begin walking down the street perpendicular to where he stood.

"Hey, NARUTO!" the man waved even though they were in a hurry.

"Hey Choji! Ino!" Naruto yelled back, and waved out of habit.

"HEY NARUTO! Sorry! We gotta go met Asuma-sensei!" Ino replied as they continued to walk.

Naruto nodded, and they were gone. He turned back to Akamaru who was sitting silently. "See Akamaru, everyone is busy today."

* * *

"All right, he's along the beginning of the path to the hot springs? Not too far from them either?" Konohamaru said, confirming the message Udon had dictated into the headset. Moegi and Konohamaru had been following Sakura and Sai while Udon and Konohamaru's clone had hidden in a tree to observe Naruto with Hinata, Kiba and Akamauru.

"_Yes, they are close to the path to the hot springs. Naruto-niichan is with the big dog and girl. The guy walked away a minute or so ago. We don't know where he went."_

"Okay, initiating operation 'Naruto-niichan's Feelings!' Stay outta sight!" he said back to Udon, as he told his present partner, "Lets go, Moegi!"

"I told you we should rename it. 'Naruto-niichan's Feelings' is a lame name."

"NO WAY! It's a great name! What could be better?!"

"The Power of Love!" she replied cheerily.

Konohamaru stared at her horrified, nearly having a heart attack at the thought. He was too stunned by the thought that he face faulted since he didn't see the where he was walking. 'I shouldn't have asked...' he mentally bashed himself; getting up so as to not inhale the roof they were on.

"NO WAY! Lets leave it for now," he then jumped off the roof so he was a few yards behind Sakura and Sai. Moegi, though slightly saddened, landed behind him.

"Sakura-neechan!" Konohamaru called out to get her attention. This stopped Sakura and Sai from walking on.

"Huh?" Sakura broke the conversation with Sai, and turned around surprised, "Oh, Konohamaru. Moegi. Where is Udon?" Sai also turned around to see who had called her. Though he was emotionless, he was slightly annoyed as well. If the children didn't distract them, he may have actually gotten the courage to ask her an important question.

Konohamaru was about to respond when he suddenly heard multiple voices through the headset.

"_WHAT THE-"_

"_AHHH! Let him go!" _he heard a frightened Udon yell.

"_What have we got here? A couple brats spying on Naruto, Hinata, and me? It's good I got here when I did, or I wouldn't have heard part of your conversation." _

"_LET ME GO! RUN! RUN! RUN!" _Konohamaru heard his voice, the clone's voice, yelling courageously at Udon,_ "Hurry up! I'll take care of him with the Sexy no- just go!"_

"_What was that, Brat?!"_

Konohamaru's concentration was broken when Sakura asked, "Is something wrong, Konohamaru, Moegi?" Moegi also had a headset on, and was making similar worried faces to Konohamaru at the sounds of the voices.

"No! I mean, YES! It's about Naruto-niichan!" Konohamaru responded immediately, 'Damn it! I gotta do this quick!' he thought. "Udon is with his family," he lied.

At that moment, he knew everything that happened with his clone. Apparently, his clone was captured by the dog person, but allowed Udon to run away. Once Udon was far enough away, the clone had stuck out its tongue, and changed into a naked female. This caused the dog ninja's nose to bleed, and eyeballs pop out of their sockets. The person also stuttered backwards from the excitement, fell out of the tree, and landed on his back. This bought Udon enough time to escape completely, and the clone dispersed when he was sure the dog person wouldn't get up. Konohamaru now knew the location of Naruto, and hoped he hadn't moved.

"Okay, what did he do?" Sakura questioned.

Konohamaru glared at the man next to her, Sai, "I can't tell him. I can only tell you," then thought of a stupid reason, "I'm not allowed to tell you otherwise."

"Um...alright," she answered, unsure of what was expected, yet thinking it was just some minimal issue Naruto didn't want publicized. She leaned over, and turned her head so he could whisper into her ear.

Konohamaru panicked for a second, completely forgetting what the old granny had told him to say. It was unlike him to forget things, but this speech she wanted them to say was long. He couldn't remember anything he was supposed to say. However, he quickly thought up something that would force Sakura to confront Naruto, put his mouth by her ear, and covered it with his hands before he whispered the lie.

Moegi curiously watched Sakura's face become angrier at every word Konohamaru said. This was the opposite effect of what she assumed would happen. It was as if the base of a fire was being built.

"WHA-! Are you sure?"

Konohamaru nodded his head, and Moegi followed suit. "I saw him go there myself, Sakura-neechan," Konohamaru confirmed. "He said he wanted to prove his abilities as a ninja."

For a moment, Sakura wanted to hunt down and kill Naruto. Using her good judgment, she calmed herself and said politely, "This doesn't sound like something Naruto would do…now...but it is most likely the reason for creating the Jutsu...though this doesn't feel right. Why are you telling this to just me?"

Konohamaru hadn't anticipated this question, and froze on the spot. Moegi, however, did, "Jiraiya-sama," she said curtly, hoping it coincided with what Konohamaru had said.

"Huh?" Sakura was slightly more interested, "Jiraiya-sama?...Now that you mention it, without a doubt, he would suggest something like this to Naruto."

Konohamaru quickly caught on and nodded, "Jiraya-sama told us to come get you...uh...because he thought...he thought he may have given Naruto-niichan the wrong impression. So he sent us to find you to...um...correct the behavior."

Completely annoyed by what she had just learned, she let go of all prior restraints. She made a fist, and raised it parallel with her body, "So you're telling me he went, and did this because it was suggested?! He can't realize it's inappropriate, and not do it!" A vein was slowly emerging on her forehead and fist. "Choosing to be a pervert! Some nerve! He should have learned from yesterday!"

Both genin feared for their lives at that moment, but it seemed as if other people broke her mode before she got too intense. "Ino-pig? Choji-san?"

"Hey Sakura! HEY SAI-KUN!" Ino yelled as she came closer, saying Sai's name louder to get his attention. Choji greeted them as well, following behind Ino.

"Okay, Konohamaru, point to where Naruto is right now since you saw him go their yourself?"

Konohamaru hesitated seeing as he just created a murderous intent within the older figure, but he did anyway. He slowly pointed slightly behind him, in the direction his clone had dispersed from. "He is near the beginning of the hot springs path!"

She twitched, "Doesn't look like he has traveled all that far," she looked up at the two friends approaching her.

"Hey Sakura, Sai-kun, what's going on?" Ino asked; noticing the two little genin talking to Sakura, and the slightly distressed face her long time rival wore.

"Nothing much, have you two seen Naruto this morning?"

Choji nodded, and then pointed in the same direction Konohamaru did, "We saw him over there a couple minutes ago. We are on our way to meet with Asuma-sensei, so we didn't have much time to talk."

There was a slight frown Konohamaru observed on Sakura's face, "I see," the pink Kunochi responded. It only helped confirm where Konohamaru pointed.

"Sorry, but we gotta go. We'll see you when we get back. Talk to you later, forehead girl," she stated to Sakura, "Bye Sai-kun! We should all have dinner again sometime!"

Choji also said his goodbyes, and they walked off past Sakura, Sai, and the two genin.

"So this is what he decided to do this morning," Sakura stated angrily. It was like every word dripped with venom. She began to march off in the direction the two people had pointed with every intention of beating the crap out of Naruto.

"Do you want me to accompany you?" Sai asked before she was too far away.

"No, it's alright, Sai. I can handle this. Thanks Konohamaru, Moegi, for informing me," with that, she was gone.

Sai nodded, said his one-worded goodbyes to the genin, and then walked towards where he had been drawing prior to meeting with Sakura, though he was slightly disappointed.

Once both older teens were gone, Moegi turned to Konohamaru and asked, "She looked really angry, Konohamaru-kun, was she suppose to be that angry for going to repair Naruto-niichan's arm? That's what Hokage-sama said we were suppose to say..."

Konohamaru gave a nervous laugh, "So that's what it was...Actually I made up something else..."

Moegi continued to stare at him completely baffled, but couldn't shake the bad feelings she had just received.

* * *

Though Kiba had been completely stunned by the two children he had found, he returned to Naruto, Hinata, and Akamaru empty handed. It had taken him a few minutes to regain consciousness after the kid's attack. Not to mention his back hurt from falling out of the tree from shock.

"Hey Kiba, welcome back. So where did you go?"

"I could smell something unfamiliar in the trees, as well as hear faint voices. There were some kids spying on us with headsets on. Oh, do you know anything about a sexy...sexy no..."

"Sexy no Jutsu?" Naruto offered.

"Yeah! Do you know what it is?"

"OF COURSE! I'm the one who made it after all! Why do you ask?"

"It was a phrase one of the brats said. What is it anyway? I think they used it on me."

"It's my super, special, secret technique for diversions," Naruto responded slyly, "Wanna see?" He smiled even harder.

"Special technique, huh?! Sure!" Kiba responded excitedly.

"Alright, get ready!" Naruto put his hands together to make the proper signs. He couldn't help but smile at the poor, innocent sucker, "SEXY N-"

"NARUTO!!!"

Completely distracted by the scream, Naruto stopped and looked down the street only to see the pink haired, medical ninja running at him.

"S-Sakura-chan?" he could see a giant dust cloud trailing behind her. "Sakura-chan...What's going on?"

He waved at her, expecting her to slow down. He couldn't understand why she was running in the first place, and expected it was something urgent.

"Is it an important mission?" He yelled out. There were a few moments where he watched her run towards him curiously. Before she was too close, he heard a small squeak. He turned his head to notice that Hinata had finally woken up and was looking at him and Kiba baffled.

"Finally awake?" Kiba said caringly as he knelt down next to her.

"Good Morning, Hin-" but Naruto was never able to finish the statement. The last image he saw was Hinata's horrified face. Her eyes had become the size of golf balls as she watched the scene before her.

"AHHH!!!" Naruto yelled as he was launched into the air by Sakura's punch. She nailed him in the center of the chest, and went in an upward angle. Naruto could tell she had put more than a necessary amount of chakra into the punch, because the clouds became increasingly closer. It was an interesting sensation to him, flying through the air. He must have gone at least a hundred yards before he turned his body a hundred and eighty degrees only to see a large pool of steaming water becoming larger as his flight came to an end. With his remaining breath, Naruto let out an even louder scream, started waving his arms around as if trying to fly, and landed in the steaming hot water. He created a splash so large, nearly a quarter of the water flew out of the pool, and at least ten feet of water went upwards from the impact.

Landing in the scorching hot water after a long flight took its toll on his body, and he felt as if he didn't want to move. He slowly floated up to the surface, belly up. He was completely unaware of his surroundings until a giant water bowl hit him directly in the head. He finally popped up from being a dead fish only to realize his misfortune. At least twenty half or completely naked women were about to mutilate him at that moment. Loud screams echoed throughout the area as the women attempted to beat him up so he wouldn't see their private areas. Naruto took quite a few objects to the body and head before he created a dozen clones. Even though the water was burning him, he took care in hiding himself underwater while the clones attempted to get out of the hot springs in his place.

"GAH!"

On the other side of a wall, the older man had fallen backwards, out of the bushes, only to jump up, and start flailing around at the shear pain of the heat. He had been peaking into the women's hot springs with his eye almost through the hole when one of the women had flung the bowl back towards the wall to empty it. This allowed her to chuck it at the unidentified male. Unfortunately for the white-haired man, the woman had been off to the side, and out of view so he never saw her motion, and the water went directly into his eye. The water was also blistering hot which only added to the situation.

Once he had finally regained composure, he used his other eye to look through the hole again, and identify the source of the ruckus. He only grumbled at the sight of Naruto, and his clones attempting to escape.

'Damn it Naruto! I should have known!' he then sighed, 'Tsunade was right about you turning into me! BUT I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!'

Only 2 clones were able to escape, and were immediately dispersed once they were far enough away. This however gave Naruto enough time to use his sexy no jutsu to blend in with the rest of the females. The female form emerged from the hot water off to the side, away from where he had initially landed.

'All right! Now I just gotta get outta here!'

"Wait a minute!" said a female voice.

A sudden shiver went up his spine; "Y-Yes?" came his best feminine voice as he turned around slightly to see who it was, fearing he may have been captured.

"Are you okay?" The half naked woman asked, "You're very red."

He couldn't help blushing, seeing as it was her upper torso that was slightly exposed. Not only that, but her breast were much bigger than Sakura, "It's okay, it's just the heat, "he quickly looked away, "That guy landed really close to where I was."

"Okay, that's good to hear you're okay," the woman smiled, then walked away.

'THAT WAS SO CLOSE!' Naruto yelled at himself. 'I gotta get outta here...NOW!'

The female Naruto casually stood up, and picked up the first available towel before heading for the exit. He kept his head down, and looked more at his feet, being extremely careful not to look at any other females. He went into the changing room, and transformed so clothes were on his body. When he was younger, he would have willingly looked at all the females, but now it just didn't seem right. He walked out the front exit, and let out a sigh of relief.

"Damn it...what the hell was that all about? She didn't have to hit me...what did I do?" he grumbled.

Naruto walked over to a tree decently far from the exit, and sat underneath it. He held his chest, wishing the pain would go away quicker. Fortunately, he could tell she didn't break any of his bones. However, he could tell his cast is soggy, and it irritated him. It was then he finally noticed all the other injuries he had accumulated from the females in the hot springs. The side of his head hurt from the initial hit by the water bowl, and there were bruises on his arms and sides. Not to mention he was still hungry, because he hadn't eaten anything so far today. He was surprised he was still able to keep going.

Jiraiya, who had been watching Naruto since he landed in the hot springs, peaked around the corner of the building to see his student sitting under the tree. A few more seconds, and Naruto had changed back to his normal self. He took the opportunity to approach his student.

"Hiya Naruto! How is everything going?"

"Hey Ero-sennin!" Noticing where his sensei had come from, he asked, "Were you spying on the girls in the-"

Jiraiya had lunged forward to cover his student's mouth. He noticed a few of the girls passing by, glaring at him, and he quickly covered it up, "He's just kidding! He doesn't know when it's a good time for a joke."

The girls continued to walk on, and Jiraiya returned his focus to Naruto, releasing the genin's mouth, "So Naruto, I see you've gotten yourself into a bit of trouble. May I ask why you did such a thing, and without informing me?"

It was then that Naruto noticed how red Jiraiya's eye was, but ignored it, "I didn't want to do that. Sakura-chan's punch was what caused it."

"What does Sakura's punch have anything to do with this?"

"She ran at me, and punched me as hard as she could. It sent me flying."

"What did you do to Sakura? This would be a better question to ask."

Naruto shook his head, and shrugged, "I have no idea!"

"Hmm..." Jiraiya stood there for a few moments contemplating what Naruto had just said. If Naruto had no idea what he did, and Sakura had been that angry about it, then something else must have influenced her. This situation was definitely a good outcome for him, seeing as it was more than likely the little brats that pulled the strings. He now felt like visiting Tsunade to tell her the hilarious event that had occurred as well as inform her of his victory.

"It would be best if you went and talked to Sakura about this. She will probably be able to explain her purpose for punching you, but..." He looked at Naruto sternly, "don't be mad with her," then gave the best fatherly smile he could muster, "She isn't someone to do anything without a reason."

Naruto nodded, he did agree on her character. Jiraiya continued with one last statement.

"A quick word of advice, Naruto. You may not understand a woman's heart, but be sure to think about how Sakura is effected by your words and actions."

Naruto gave another firm nod, before he realized he had a question, "Alright Ero-sennin. Oh, hey...um...I had this really weird dream yesterday..."

"Oh...what was it about?"

"It was between Sakura-chan and me. It felt real...Even though I know it was a dream. I couldn't tell the difference for a while. It felt like...like she had actually been there with me. Do you know why it would be so real, Ero-sennin?"

Once again, Jiraiya thought for a few moments about what his student had said, until he finally came up with an answer.

"It is because you are too stupid to tell the difference," he concluded simply.

"WHA-?!" Naruto's eyes widened, and jaw dropped down to hit the ground, "NO I'M NOT!"

"Yes you are, however I am willing to offer other reasons."

"Which are...?"

Jiraiya stood up straight, put his arms behind his back, closed his eyes as if to think, and acted like a teacher. "Sometimes dreams are so realistic we can't determine whether they are reality or not, because our senses are deceiving us. We feel as if it is reality, because our five senses are working. So you can't really tell when you are asleep or not. Another possible reason may be that someone touched those areas on your external body, and therefore your dream, or internal body, included them. The last possible reason may be that the Kyuubi is impacting your body on a subconscious level."

Jiraiya opened his eyes to look at Naruto, and only confirmed his thoughts. 'I knew he wouldn't understand it.' Naruto was staring blankly at him, eyebrow arched, and still waiting for the answer.

He sighed, and then added, "There are various reasons as to why you can't tell the difference, but it isn't uncommon for a dream to feel like reality. It also isn't uncommon to confuse what happened in a dream with reality."

Naruto nodded his head this time. Slowly grasping the concepts as usual. "Anyway, it's best if you go change your cast..." upon closer inspection, Jiraiya could tell the cast was no longer as effective, "Go to the Konoha Hospital, they should be able to remove the cast, and wrap it up. You shouldn't have to get...why are you staring at me like that?"

"So Ero-sennin knows this, because he has had really realistic dreams involving girls," Naruto stated with a devious smile.

Jiraiya twitched, "You brat..."

Naruto took off running, and yelled over his shoulder, "Thanks Ero-sennin!"

Jiraiya remained under the tree, looking down the path Naruto had just gone. 'Interesting, so he had a dream while Sakura was around him...Involving girls you say...Interesting.' He naturally rubbed his chin as he began walking towards the Hokage's office, 'I should have asked him for more details. It may have been good material for my next book.'

* * *

The golden sun peeked out from behind the walls of Konoha. Reddish-orange, yellow, Blue, Indigo cascaded across the sky like paint being brushed onto a canvas. A few clouds littered the beautiful scenery, however they only enhanced the view. The young apprentice kunochi had gone to the library shortly after her encounter with her blond-haired colleague, and then home after a couple hours of studying various books on battle strategies, poisons, and Konaha's clan histories. She sat on her bed, leaning up against the wall, still feeling angry about what Konohamaru had said, but satisfied slightly with her immature reaction that morning. It was sunset now, almost night, and she had just finished eating dinner.

'_S-Sakura-chan?...Sakura-chan. What's going on?...Is it an important mission?'_

Sakura kept replaying that moment in her head. Though she was sure her actions were justified, something about the situation felt odd. She felt as if he had never did what Konohamaru had claimed, but angry about the news he had reported at the same time. The notion of Naruto doing something so perverted, and sneaky just to get a look at naked girls sickened her.

'_Naruto used the Sexy No Jutsu to go into the female side of the hot springs and spy on them...'_ she remembered Konohamaru whispering into her ear.

'He really does need to stop using that jutsu...'

"**Or you could just learn it, and use it against him instead," **her inner self suggested.

'Hmm...That wouldn't help...especially with what happened yesterday when Konohamaru used the 'Double Knockout Guys' against me. But...why do I care so much to go out of my way and react like I did without even asking him? Why do I feel like he betrayed me?'

"**You're jealous."**

'No, absolutely not!...it couldn't be that...could it?' the mere thought of Naruto made her body excited, 'I'm...I'm reacting the same way I used to when I thought about Sasuke-kun...'

"SAKURA-CHAN" came a voice from outside her window.

Sakura's thoughts were scattered as she jumped up from her bed, her heart beginning to throb, 'Is he actually here? Shannaro!'

"**SWEET! JUST THE PERSON I WANTED TO SEE! QUICK! Act calm, stupid, and surprised!"**

She walked onto the balcony connected to her room, and looked down only to see a familiar face, "N-Naruto?" she said somewhat surprised.

"Sakura-chan! I need to talk to you. Let me come up."

'He doesn't have on his cast anymore,' she commented mentally. His arm was now wrapped in white wrapping instead of a huge cast.

Shaking her head, "Uh...wait there," then looked back at her open door. One of her two parents were home, and wouldn't appreciate a boy on her balcony or in her room so close to night.

She looked back down to explain the situation to Naruto only to notice he was gone. "Naruto?" Her partner was nowhere to be found as she quickly scanned the alley. "Where did you go?"

"Sakura-chan, I'm right here."

She looked straightforward to see Naruto on the side of the building across from her room, almost on the rooftop, looking directly at her. Once she noticed him, he jumped across the gap, and landed on the balcony next to her. Though her body was still facing out towards the alley, his body was facing towards her room. He leaned back onto the side of the balcony. A few more seconds, and Sakura noticed he had somehow managed to land inches away from her. She could feel her cheeks begin to turn pink from the closeness, but immediately dissipated the thoughts, and reacted calmly.

"I want to talk to you, Sakura-chan. I won't take too long. It's about earlier."

She thought she had grown out of such childish acts, but she always reacted like that to Naruto when she disagreed with something. Instead of speaking, she nodded and allowed him to talk.

"Why did you send me flying this morning?"

"Konohamaru told me you had gone into the female area of the hot springs using the Sexy No Jutsu as means of a disguise. He also said Jiraiya-sama had told him to get me so I would contain you."

Naruto laughed nervously. She had no idea that it was slightly true, but only because she caused it. He also realized it wasn't possible for Jiraiya to be the one who initiated this seeing as he never expected Naruto to be at the hot springs.

"I wouldn't do something like that now, Sakura-chan, and I didn't this morning either…Hmmm...Maybe when I was younger...," he paused for a moment, contemplating the situation.

Sakura looked at Naruto confused, "You mean...you never did that?"

He shook his head, "Nope, I was looking for you this morning. The only people I saw were Kiba, Hinata, and Akamaru."

She turned away, guilty now from his alibi, but still slightly skeptical. 'Wait...why was he looking for me this morning?' she thought.

Naruto thought about what Jiraiya had said, the way she was reacting, and finally came to a conclusion, "Don't worry," he began softly, "I'll speak with Konohamaru tomorrow about the whole thing, and have him come talk to you." He gave her a quick smile of reassurance that eased her slightly, but at the same time felt like pounding Konohamaru. "Besides, without Sakura-chan, I wouldn't know what to do. I may have become another Ero-sennin by now. I need Sakura-chan's powerful strength to keep me in check."

"Heh," as she shook her head slightly, 'You have no tact.' She then slowly looked down the alley towards the street. It was then she noticed some of the bright decorations, and half finished ornaments hanging. She blinked to make sure she wasn't imagining it. "What are those decorations for?"

It was as if a light bulb went on in Naruto's head, "Huh? Oh, those are for the summer festival. It starts in a few days," he could feel himself become slightly nervous, "We could go together, and call it a date, if you want-"

Without a moment of hesitation she responded, "Okay," preventing him from finishing.

"R-Really?!" he said unable to contain his excitement, "GREAT! I'll find out what day it starts and-"

"But..." she looked at him, cutting him off again, and winked, "You're going to be paying for dinner, and you have to win a fish."

Remembering how horrible he was at those games was not going to help with what he would be paying for later, "Does it have to be a fish?"

"Yes! No exceptions."

Naruto let out a small whimper, "No problem, Sakura-chan. You will get a fish. No one is better at getting a fish then me!" He lied, making Sakura smile more. He mentally noted that he should save up as much money as possible. Remembering his previous question before all hell broke loose in the morning, he leaned back a bit farther so he could get a better look at her face, "Were you at the training grounds with me yesterday?"

She blushed, unable to contain her thoughts, and nodded, "Y-Yes, why?"

"When I woke up...you weren't there, and I was worried something may have happened to you."

"I'm sorry," she said sincerely. It was never her intention to scare her best friend, "I had to leave early to report to Tsunade-sama," she partially lied. She did have to go see Tsunade, but she left much earlier than she had just made it sound, and for a different reason.

"So Sakura-chan kissed my cheek, right?"

Sakura blushed, "Y-yeah..." She thought back to what happened exactly. She did kiss his cheek, and then lay on his shoulder while they both fell asleep, and the part she decided to leave out dealt with after he fell asleep. She remembered specifically kissing his forehead before she left, but she didn't feel like sharing it with him just yet.

"And that's all?"

Though still slightly flushed, she nodded, "I left later, after you were asleep, and I didn't want to wake you."

He smiled, "At least you were there. I thought you never were..." Sakura looked at him curiously, and he continued, "I had a dream with you in it. Jiraiya said there were many reasons as to why it was the way it was. Since you were there it sort of makes sense now."

"I see..."

Naruto let out a stifling laugh.

"Huh? What's so funny?"

"You say it just like Granny Tsunade," he smirked; "Though you're much prettier than she is, and you're not trying to hide your real age..." he had been looking into her room, observing all the details. He closed his eyes to think before his grin became a smile, and said, "You haven't changed at all, Sakura-chan."

She sighed heavily, responding with, "You always say that...also that I have a flat-chest, I'm monstrously stro-" yet she was never able to complete the statement.

He looked out of the corner of his eye, then smiled hard and closed his eyes to illuminate the smile, "Those are the traits I like about you! I think you are beautiful the way you are..." then became a little more serious, "I thought that when I first met you...Now you are an amazing medic ninja too...That's what I mean when I say that..."

Naruto turned his head to show her the smile he had, even though his eyes were still closed. It was at that time he felt something delicate and luscious pressed against his lips, and something smooth pressed against his left cheek. He slowly felt his lips relax from the smile, and he opened his eyes to see Sakura's face a centimeter away from his with her eyes closed.

'I'm...I'm kissing SAKURA-CHAN!' his brain alerted him. He could feel his body become extremely hot, and his palms become sweaty. The feeling was so overpowering he felt like he would pass out. Though he enjoyed this moment beyond anything else he ever experienced, another second passed and a flash of emerald appeared.

Sakura had opened her eyes to see Naruto's cerulean eyes looking into hers, and his shining red cheeks. The shock was immense, and she pulled her head away immediately. Naruto had a similar response, and moved his head back as well. Hundreds of thoughts flashed through his head as he stood still like a boiling thermometer that had just hit the limit, and was about to explode. He was looking down hoping to cover the shock.

"S-Sakura-chan..." he immediately said, though he was too overwhelmed to form sentences, "I...its...I'll-" he said dumbfounded. Scratching his head, he looked to see how Sakura was reacting, and felt extreme pain in his left cheek. He had no idea what had happened, except that he hit the ground, and blacked out.

Sakura instinctively punched him for the second time that day, and sent him flying into her room where he landed on his side with a thump, skidding to a stop. The punch wasn't intended to hurt him, but the way he landed caused more problems. The second she returned to normal, she covered her mouth out of shock. Her cheeks were still flushed from the kiss, but she was too stunned from her immediate reaction to do anything.

"Naruto...I'm...I didn't..." Sakura couldn't even gain enough composure to make coherent sense with her words. Her face was glowing red, and her heart was pounding inside her chest as she looked around frenetically, trying to find something to explain her actions. She had thought he would have gotten up by now, but he remained on the ground, unmoving. Once she realized something was wrong, it was as if a weight had pulled down her whole body, and hung on her like a drape. She had absolutely no idea where to go from that point.

'My first kiss...was...Naruto...I...I always wanted it to be Sasuke-kun...but...it's...it's NARUTO!' The realization had finally landed. Something about the kiss had made her speechless, but at the same time brought her to life. It was difficult for her to explain. Sakura also knew she had no reason to hit him, though she didn't mean to kiss his lips either.

She could hear her inner self cheering, **"OH YEAH!!! YOU KNOW YOU WANTED IT TO BE HIM!"**

'Shannaro...' she cursed mentally. The feeling of uneasiness continued to sink into her. She slowly walked over to Naruto's body, and knelt down next to it. Placing her two fingers on the side of his neck, where the vein is, she checked for a pulse. He was lying on his side, so it was easy to find. His skin felt smooth against her fingers, and upon closer inspection she realized he was quite tan. She could feel his pulse, and exhaled the breath she had been holding in.

"Phew, he's alive..." she said relieved. She began to shake him softly, "Naruto, get up..." nothing happened.

She looked outside and realized it was dark now. She wouldn't be able to take him home if he didn't awake. She didn't know his condition though so she let her eyes wander from his collarbone, to his jaw line, then to his face. He wasn't pale or pasty, but still slightly red from their kiss. To her, he actually looked kind of cute with his eyes closed. It was different for a change. She then allowed her eyes to wander to his golden hair, and felt the urge to play with it. Timidly, Sakura extended her other arm so as to stroke his hair, but stopped half way and recoiled.

'I can't...were just friends...I didn't mean to kiss him either, so why did I want to touch him now...What...what if we can't talk easily...because...because it may be too awkward. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON WITH ME?' the thought scared her more then anything else. Naruto was a big part of her life; there was no denying it, and losing him as well would probably hurt her more than Sasuke's departure.

"**DO IT!!!" **the inner voice squealed,** "You don't like Sasuke-kun anymore! You just think you like him out of habit, because of the competition between Ino and you. NARUTO ISN'T GOING TO HATE YOU NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS!"**

'Heh,' she couldn't help but agree with her inner self, for once it had hit the nail on the head. Sasuke had been her first crush, but she realized her feelings had slowly been deteriorating for the lone Uchiha over the years. Her difficulty was admitting and accepting the feelings for the man lying on the floor. It was challenging to give up on something she had been so used to doing, and accept what her heart really wanted.

She quickly checked for any broken bones around his upper body, and then pushed his shoulder so he lay on his back. She could see his chest rise and fall in sync with his breathing, knowing it was a good sign. She extended her arm once again, and ran her fingers through his rugged hair. It was odd to her, because Naruto's head leaned towards the touch.

"Naruto..."

While her inner self did a little dance, she gazed down at him with a loving expression. She thought about the kiss a little more deeply. It was like her whole body had suddenly sparked to life at the touch, and it scared her significantly. Everything was going to change.

"What am I going to do with you now?"

* * *

**XD I think I came up with 3 different endings for this chapter, and this one seemed to work the best. Though I did have other ideas for Naruto instead of laying there out cold. Now what is she going to do with him? Meant both physically and mentally. Yes, this is rated T for TEEN. I mention this, because I even had a dirty thought when I put that question. Everyone will have to wait until the next chapter to find out the answer though.**

**Okay, I changed a small part in the discussion between Sakura and Naruto. It is referring back to the whole training ground scene. Hopefully it will clarify the situation a little better.**

**Oh! Instead of putting questions at the end of these chapters, I finally figured out how to use the polls on my profile page! YAY! XD took me forever to figure it out. It would have been easier since then I wouldn't have to count it up and everything. I did create a poll, and if you would like to vote then go to my bio page, and the question is at the top. Click the 'vote now!' link, and the rest should be self-explanatory. I will change, or remove the question when I post the next chapter…if I remember or feel like changing it XD. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, and it is at least clearer and more fulfilling then previous chapters. Please read and review. Cya, until next time...**


	5. Stepping Back

**OMG! I'M ALIVE! And have posted the much awaited chapter. Yes, I know I took forever to update this story. I'm very sorry for the delay! I know it's frustrating when a story isn't updated frequently. Most of the time it results in: "WHY DO I LIKE WHAT YOU WRITE SO MUCH!?" (sigh) Anyway, I really did lose interest in continuing this story for a while. I was unable to work on it for a couple weeks, and when I went back to it...I just didn't feel like writing, and swim season began so I didn't have spare time. I have no idea how many people are even still interested in this story either.  
**

**Onto the story aspect: Time hasn't past between this chapter and the previous one. Remember, Sakura knocked out Naruto with a punch that sent him into her room after they accidentally kissed. This is where it was left off. The beginning overlaps with the end of the previous one. Oh, and last but not least: This somewhat ties back into the manga, but more or less my version. XD  
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**Okay, moving along. New Philosophy acquired with other short story: Don't like my story? Then don't read it. I think that's pretty simple and easy to follow.**

**Another nice announcement: I have no idea where the FUK (misspelled for a reason) I'm going with this story anymore. It is most likely going to be different than the summary most of you read in the very beginning if you remember it. So if you're sitting there thinking, "Wow…this is different than what she said when I first started reading this story..." then yes, you are correct.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I'm not paid to do this, so don't sue. You will get everything a poor college student has to offer...which are these pieces of lint and dust bunnies I found under my bed. I own this story's plot/storyline. Not the characters, or some of the ideas…THE PLOT WHICH IS STILL WORTH NOTHING!! ONTO THE STORY!!**

* * *

**Gratification**

**Chapter 5 – Stepping Back**

Something was touching his head, and he instinctively leaned towards the touch.

"Naruto..."

The world was black and unchanging, but he slowly felt the cold floor against his back, and his cheek throbbing more and more from pain. The touch on his head also became much clearer. Even under these circumstances, he restrained himself from moving, thinking it would be best to keep his eyes closed, and play possum until he knew what was happening. He could feel her fingers playing with his hair as she spoke, and couldn't help but think, 'We...We kissed...' this one thought made it much harder for him to hold his unchanging position.

"What am I going to do with you now?"

Those words were filled with unexplainable warmth that tickled his whiskers. There was a brief pause before she continued.

"You always understood me...Maybe...Maybe one day I can tell you-"

Unfortunately, the next words never came. From Naruto's spot on the ground, he could hear loud thuds coming from outside the room, but inside the house. Though the sounds were muffled, they became louder and louder with each silent moment.

"Sakura!" came a voice that was just as far away as the thuds.

"Shannaro..."

'NOOO! FINISH WHAT YOU WERE SAYING!' Naruto's mind screamed. Before he could figure out what was happening, he was being shoved somewhere, then finally rolled. He could feel his body rub against the ground, something feathery graze his skin, and dust float into his nose. A swoosh sound was heard, a scramble of feet, and the amount of space for Naruto became smaller as something pressed against his back from above. Naruto tried as hard as he could to not sneeze or flinch from the irritation by bringing a free hand up to his nose. His eyes opened, and he could see the back of Sakura's feet from where he was.

'Thanks Sakura-chan,' he thought sarcastically, 'You couldn't think of a better place to hide me?!' he grumbled, and then thought for a moment about what she had said, 'I always understood her...She said maybe one day...DAMN IT! I WANT TO KNOW NOW!'

The door, which had been partially open, nailed the wall behind it as a person skidded in. Naruto shifted his head to look at the intruder, but realized sheets obscured his view so only their feet were visible. The dust had been lifted again from the entrance of the person, and caused more irritation for Naruto.

"Is everything alright?! I left to go get food for this week, and as soon as I was close to home, people outside were saying there was a loud crash that came from our house. I rushed back as quick as I could. I thought something happened to you," came the worried, womanly voice. It sounded similar to Sakura's, but much older.

"Y-Yeah, everything is alright. I was just...studying, and when I went to put the book back...the shelf broke, and a couple heavier books Tsunade-sama lent me fell. I fixed the shelf, and cleaned everything up," Sakura reassured, though there was a hint of anxiousness in her voice.

'Whew...Nice one, Sakura-chan,' Naruto thought to himself. There was a moment of silence, 'Damn this dust...its too much...don't you ever clean under your bed?!' Naruto knew he had to hold out for a few more seconds, but the fight with dust was becoming intolerable.

"Okay," came the cheery voice, "I wanted to make sure you were alright. Some of the neighbors were saying you must have knocked out a person or something, but I wouldn't know since I didn't hear it."

Sakura let out a nervous laugh, sounding as if the comment were absurd, "No, no. Everything is fine. I'm the only one here."

"That's what I told them. Good night," there was a light shuffle of feet, and the sound of the door slowly closing.

Naruto couldn't hold it anymore, and sneezed loudly. The bed went up slightly from Sakura jumping, and the door reopened immediately.

"Blush you...Are you feeling alright? You look a bit pale from a few moments ago..."

"Wha?! I'm fine. Its nothing to worry about. Just a little dust from when I cleaned up." She said surprised, but Naruto could hear the panic emitted in her response.

After a few moments of silence, and probably inspection by the woman, the cheery voice came once again, "Okay, get a good night's rest."

"Good night."

Naruto heard the door click, and footsteps disappear into the distance. Sakura's body slid off the bed into a sitting position on the ground a foot or two away from the bed. She clutched her chest with one hand, and let out the air she had been holding in.

"That was too close..."

Naruto watched her body for a moment, trying to deem whether it was safe to come out or not. He gulped as he grabbed the sheet and lifted it up. The movement caught her attention.

"Nice save, Sakura-chan..." he said with his classic smirk.

"Thank you."

"**NARUTO, YOU IDIOT! YOU COULDN'T HOLD THE SNEEZE FOR ANOTHER FEW SECONDS?" **her inner self screamed.

Realizing he wasn't moving, she added, "You can come out now. She isn't going to come back tonight."

"That's a relief," Naruto said as he slid his body out from under the bed, and sat in front of her.

The whole situation with Sakura's mother had caused them to forget about the accidental kiss, but once their eyes connected they reacted the same. Both blushed furiously, and looked the opposite way.

"So..." Sakura started off, unsure about how to react. "Um...when...when d-did you regain consciousness?" she stammered.

Naruto felt himself blush more, and his heart beat faster, "Just now...while I was under your bed," he lied. He did not want her to be angry that he had heard part of what she said. Out of the corner of his eye, he could tell she looked slightly more relieved than before.

"That was when you sneezed?"

"Y-Yeah..." Naruto scratched the back of his head, unable to think of what to say. Finally something came to mind, and without another thought he turned to face Sakura who had finally gotten the courage to look back.

"You've developed a super strength reflex punch haven't you?"

Sakura glared at him as her eyebrow twitched from anger, "That's because you shock me!"

"EH?! Konohamaru was the one who shocked you earlier! I've only surprised you once today."

She turned tomatoe red from the misunderstanding earlier, "If it wasn't for your perverted habits, I would have never assumed you might have done something like going into the female hot springs."

"But I didn't do it! Konohamaru is the reason you were _shocked_ then launched me-" Naruto stopped talking immediately, 'SHIT! I can't say she launched me there!' he realized a second too late what he had just said.

"Naruto..." she stared at him insensitively, "Where exactly did you land?"

"Uhh...hehe...no need to worry about that, Sakura-chan...it's not like-"

"Where?"

"...The female section of the hot springs..."

Sakura's eyes popped out of her head, and she raised her fist parallel with her body. He could see her veins protruding as well.

"EHHHHH?! YOU SAID YOU NEVER WENT TO THE HOT SPRINGS!"

'Shit...' "Yeah...and that was true...I didn't go in there in the morning...but you never asked where I landed..." He was slowly backing away.

Sakura leaned forward and grabbed the collar of his jacket, "That's besides the point!" she said through gritted teeth. Naruto quickly prepared himself for one of her punches, and closed his eyes.

"Easy Sakura-chan...it wasn't my choice..."

It wasn't until he felt her release him suddenly, pull back and exhale that he finally opened his eyes. He tilted his head confused as he looked at her.

"I guess I can let it slide this time since I caused it...It's not like you had a _choice_..." She looked away, closed her eyes, crossed her arms, and stuck up her nose as she said it so as to give the impression she was unwillingly letting him go.

Naruto could only stare at her flabbergasted, 'Whoa Sakura-chan just...spared me...'

Sakura turned her head back to look at him, and noticed his mouth was slightly ajar, "What?"

"Nothing," he said quickly, "I better get going. I rather not stick around for round two with your mother."

Naruto stood up, and brushed the dust off himself. He was about to take a step forward until he heard Sakura's voice.

"Wait, we're not done." Naruto tilted his head as she looked up at him. "Sit," she stated firmly. Naruto lowered his body to the ground, and back into a sitting position as if he were a trained dog.

"Listen. I-I...Um...I didn't mean to...to um..." Her heart was suddenly beating harder in her chest. 'Damn it! Why can't I talk all of a sudden?' She wanted to talk about what had happened. It was her first official kiss after all, but where was her voice?

"The kiss?" Naruto suggested. He blushed slightly as his eyes trailed down to her lips.

"Yeah, I-"

"It's alright, Sakura-chan," came his positive voice, "It was an accident."

They had temporarily been able to avoid the topic, but she felt it was now or never. "Y-yeah...but I didn't mean to-"

"We turned towards each other at the same time. It's not like it meant anything," Naruto gave a large, fake, toothy smile. He was lying to himself with that statement, but could feel the butterflies zooming around in his stomach.

Sakura felt her pounding heart lurch backwards into her chest. "Right...It's not like it meant anything..."

"**LIAR, LIAR! PANTS ON FIRE!" **Inner Sakura yelled, leaving a ringing sound in Sakura's ears.

"Besides, we'll be getting Sasuke-kun back soon...Just like you said: We'll do it _**together**_."

Sakura suddenly felt like she wanted to yell, scream, chuck books at him, kick him into the ground, or drill it into his head that she needed her turn to speak. Fortunately, something clicked within that moment which changed her perspective.

'_I don't go back on my words...it's a promise of a lifetime...'_

Naruto was reacting this way, because he wanted to fulfill his promise. He didn't want anything to stop them. He needed to pursue Sasuke, his own 'adopted,' traitor of a brother.

"I did, didn't I?"

He nodded, "I better get going...You need to go to sleep anyway."

Naruto stood up once again, and this time Sakura react.

"I gotta train tomorrow morning," he lied again as he began to walk towards the balcony so as to leave, "Cya, Sakura-chan."

In a single second, it was as if two other conclusions finally hit Sakura's head: She really did like him. Just the words of him saying that the kiss meant nothing had hurt significantly more than anything else. Also, it was the same reaction he had had whenever she wanted to tell him she cared about him. He always had to be the tough guy when it came to things like this.

"**You IDIOT! What are you doing sitting there?!" **yelled her inner self again, snapping her back to life.

"Wait, Naruto!" Sakura had finally found her voice, and stood up intuitively, 'Shannaro! Think of something to say!'

"**I LOVE YOU! YOU FREAKING IDIOT!"**

'SHUT UP!'

Naruto looked over his shoulder baffled, "Eh?"

"You hit your head pretty hard, and it's not a good idea to move around by yourself. It's better to stay in one place with someone else around to look after you."

He couldn't resist. Giving her a sly smile, "Don't worry Sakura-chan. I'm one of the strongest guys in Konoha, and one of the few that can take your punches. You got nothing to worry about."

Within a split second, Sakura had moved around him to be between his body and the exit. He turned his head to look at her.

"You're staying here," were the only words to come. It was as if she rammed it down his throat.

Naruto was taken aback by her words. He had expected to be let go, or asked to leave after such an incident, but here she was doing the exact opposite. He wasn't dumb enough to go against her though.

"A-Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm telling you it's fine. You can sleep in my bed."

"EH?! Don't you think you're moving a bit fast?!"

"NOT TOGETHER DUMBASS!" she bonked him on the head before calmly continuing, "I'll be sleeping on the ground, and you in my bed. We're in _separate_ locations!" She made sure to emphasize the word 'separate.' She turned to leave.

'Damn it!' "Okay," then came the general human response he couldn't prevent himself from mumbling, "But I wanted to share..."

"What was that?" she asked sternly, giving him a death glare again.

"N-Nothing." He jumped slightly since he hadn't expected her to hear him. It surprised him how much control she had sometimes by just being scary.

"That's what I thought you said. I'll go get blankets for a makeshift bed. You just get comfortable." Sakura left the room without any further statements.

For some reason, the situation wasn't as awkward as Naruto thought it would be. Sure it was her room, which didn't help any, but at the same time it didn't matter. He was so used to being around her from missions and daily life it felt okay. He removed his shoes and jacket, and lay in her bed under the covers.

'She is my friend...only a friend...Sakura-chan wouldn't like someone like me...that's why I'm trying to not go after her now...the kiss was an accident, she doesn't mean it,' he reminded himself, 'I did the right thing. I understand her.'

Sakura returned, and made the bed on the ground. After grabbing some nightclothes, she walked out of the room once again; this time to change.

Naruto mumbled to himself again, "Not fair..."

'Maybe if I join her on the ground during the middle of the night...hmm...so much for not going after her...'

Sakura returned quickly, dressed in her nightwear, and lay down on the makeshift bed. She covered her head with the blanket, but peaked out to look over at where Naruto was.

"Naruto?"

"Yes?"

"If you try anything during the middle of the night...I'll kick you so hard you'll have a sex change."

It took a few moments for Naruto to comprehend what she had just said, but soon gulped and began to sweat slightly as he covered his manhood with his hand. Though the message was rather vague, it made perfect sense to him. What befuddled him was whether she actually heard him again, or if she knew what he was thinking.

"Anyway, good night Naruto."

"Night...Sakura-chan..."

* * *

She groaned at the sound of the voice. Her body was warm, and refreshed. She could feel something pressing down on her left shoulder, but was unaware of where she was, or how she had gotten there. After a few moments, she understood she was in her bed, which greatly confused her since she thought she had fallen asleep on the floor.

"Sakura-chan," the voice was louder than before, and her vision was slightly fuzzy. She slowly popped her head out from under the covers so only her eyes came out.

"Nar…uto..."

Her blond-haired companion smiled down upon her, and lifted his hand off her shoulder while waving the other.

"Morning, Sakura-chan," he said softly, causing a small blush to make its way into Sakura's cheeks.

"Good morning," she returned the greeting, "H-How did I..." She stopped when she heard his uneasy giggles. "Huh? What's so funny?"

"Hehe, Don't get too mad Sakura-chan..." he said with a hint of seriousness in his voice.

"W-what...Why? What's going on?"

"I told your mom the good news, and she sort of reacted as you did...maybe even had a heart attack at this rate..."

"Wait…" Sakura began as she thought about the night before. What good news was he talking about? The accidental kiss topic which they avoided somewhat?

Naruto nodded with an even bigger smile on his face, "Yep! I told her we were getting married."

"WHAT?!" Sakura turned every shade of red possible, and shot out of bed so fast she nearly hit the ceiling on the way up, "WHY DID YOU SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT?! WE'RE NOT GETTING MARRIED! SHE HAS NEVER MET YOU BEFORE NOW! YOU IDIOT! SHANNARO!"

Sakura didn't realize she had grabbed the collar of his shirt, was shaking him forcefully, and holding him at least a good foot off the ground. Her hair had become pointed, and her eyes grew large and white.

Naruto felt she was going to suffocate him, and grabbed onto her arms in an attempt to loosen her grip, "It's...okay...Sakura-chan," each word was it's own separate breath, "I was...joking…" It was all he could say since his face was slowly turning blue.

Naruto immediately felt the grip around his neck decrease tenfold, and fell to the ground with a thud.

"Naruto..." came Sakura's icy cold voice, "Don't do that again..."

Naruto grinned and nodded as he scratched the back of his head, "Okay, but I couldn't think of a better way of waking you up. Oh, what would you like for breakfast?"

Sakura blinked as she looked down at him since she hadn't anticipated the question after choking him, and he rarely cooked anything besides ramen. "B-Breakfast?"

"Yeah, what would you like for breakfast?" Naruto repeated. His lips curved upward in a happy, cat-like smile as he sat cross-legged on the ground.

"F-fruit...w-whatever is in the kitchen will be fine," she stuttered.

"Good, I'll cut it up. It will be in a bowl at the kitchen table. I'm waiting for you there," the clone then vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Hump, that coward sent a clone..." 'It must have been because of the marriage comment.'

Sakura smiled at the thought before pushing it away. She then changed into her mission clothes remembering that she was suppose to see Tsunade today with Naruto. Her master would probably send them on some sort of mission, or expect her to go fulfill some other menial task. It would be best to be suited for any occasion. She brushed out her hair, and put on her forehead protector before leaving her room.

The blond headed being, sitting at the table, eating a cup of ramen, turned around to greet the person walking down the stairs.

He swallowed the noodles which were leaking out of his mouth before saying, "Good morning, Sakura-chan!"

"N-Naruto...how can you eat something so heavy for breakfast?"

Naruto merely shrugged before remembering his accomplishment.

"You said you wanted fruit," he motioned towards the bowl of nicely cut fruit on the table waiting for her.

"W-wait...My mother…" she whispered slowly, "She isn't still here? It was a joke...right?"

"Its okay, Sakura-chan," he responded with the same goofy smile.

That was the last thing she wanted to hear, 'IT WASN'T A JOKE! IT'S PROBABLY WHAT INSPIRED IT! SHANNARO!!' she mentally yelled at herself.

Confused by the expression on her face, Naruto scratched his cheek, "I didn't see her at all."

"...Oh..." Sakura felt her brain was moving extremely slow this morning. Most of the time she was pretty sharp, and much more relaxed. However, this whole situation seemed to cause her to blow up at every slight thing. It reminded her of Naruto.

"I made a clone to stay with you, and went to your front door from the balcony. I knocked, but no one answered, so I assumed she left. That's when I chose to stay in the kitchen until I woke you up."

"**I should give him more credit once in a while before jumping to conclusions," **she could hear her inner self say.

"I see..."

Another moment passed, and a random question came to her head, "Naruto, I fell asleep on the ground. Why did I wake up in my bed?"

"Heh, I thought it would be better for you, so I moved you there." He was smiling like he was thirteen again.

Sakura's expression softened even though she wanted to beat him into a pulp for disobeying her. She tilted her head as she smiled. Sakura then walked around the table, and sat down in front of the bowl of fruit. She began to take a few bites before she asked another question.

"When did you get up anyway?"

"About a few hours ago, but I didn't go training like I wanted to."

"Why is that?"

Naruto flashed a smirk; "I thought it would be better to see you in the morning instead of leaving. Besides, you said we had to see Granny Tsunade today too."

Sakura took another bite of fruit, "Yeah, she prefers to be visited in the morning."

"Really?"

It suddenly dawned on Sakura that she hadn't even checked any of her clocks that entire morning. She looked over at the clock in the kitchen to see it reading one thirty in the afternoon.

"SHANNARO!!" she jumped out of her chair, ran around the table, and grabbed the back of Naruto's collar. She then proceeded to drag him behind her as she dashed out the door. The ramen Naruto had been eating spilled on the ground, and all that was left was the chopsticks in his bandaged hand.

"What's...going...on?..." Naruto asked between bumps.

"YOU WOKE ME UP SO LATE! SHE'S GONNA KILL US!"

"That old granny...wouldn't do...anything to us!"

'**YOU DON'T KNOW HER WRATH! SHANNARO!'** Inner Sakura yelled.

"We're still running there!"

Sakura swerved through the crowd at a lightning pace, and didn't stop until she reached the entrance of the Hokage building. She let go of Naruto's collar so he fell to the ground, then waited until he was on his feet before she moved forward.

They walked through the building together, and were very close to reaching the Hokage office when they heard muffled yells which sounded like an angry female. They followed the sound to the Hokage office. When they came within a few feet of the entrance, the door burst open, popping out 3 genin.

"YOU HAVE UNTIL THE END OF THE FESTIVAL TO FIX THIS!" the fifth yelled.

"YOU CRAZY OLD GRANNY!" Konohamaru yelled back as he stood up.

"Konohamaru-kun! You shouldn't say-" Moegi attempted to tell him.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Tsunade bellowed, causing Konohamaru to fall over from the force of her yell then jump up, slam the door, and run as fast as he could down the hall with Moegi and Udon struggling to keep up behind him.

Something in Naruto's head dug up what he and Sakura had discussed the previous night on the balcony, and remembered he had said he would talk to Konohamaru.

"Hey, Konohamaru! We got something we need to talk to you about-," he said, motioning to him and Sakura when he said 'we.'

"BYE NARUTO NII-CHAN!" Konohamaru waved, and only ran faster.

They watched the group vanish around a corner. Sakura twitched, 'This can't be good...we're late...and those little brats just made it worse...'

Sakura had dealt with Tsunade during times of being angry, drunk, upset, or infuriated...but she still had the utmost respect for her. Tsunade wasn't the person to tick off under any circumstance. Sakura let out a sigh, before walking towards the door with Naruto trailing behind her. They opened the door to see Jiraiya standing off to the side of Tsunade.

"Where the hell were you?"

"Easy Tsunade..."

Sakura and Naruto walked in. Sakura quickly walked to the center and bowed.

"I'm so sorry...Naruto and I were eating lunch...er, breakfast, and-"

"Perverted Hermit's here, too?"

This distracted Jiraiya away from Tsunade, "Hey Naruto! How have you been?"

Sakura looked up from her bow, ignoring the exchange between Naruto and Jiraiya, and focusing her attention to her master, she said, "What did you want to speak to us about?"

Jiraiya looked at Tsunade, and nodded in confirmation, "...Right."

Naruto tilted his head slightly as he looked at the two elders.

"Information has been coming in from the other countries, and I wanted to discuss it with you."

"Info?" Sakura suggested.

"What is it? What is it?"

Jiraiya then continued in place of Tsunade. "I'm sure you two are aware of the festival taking place the day after tomorrow. Also, there are those from Suna who are coming to promote the village's alliance."

Both of the students nodded.

Naruto couldn't help but begin to ask, "Is Gaara-"

"The Kagekaze will not be able to leave..."

Naruto was slightly disappointed, but continued to listen.

"However Temari will be coming as the representative. We need-"

Before Jiraiya could finish, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" Tsunade yelled.

The door opened, and Shikamaru entered, "Hey Naruto! Sakura!"

"Hey Shikamaru!" Sakura and Naruto both responded.

Sakura then looked back to her mentor, "So Shikamaru is joining us in the mission?"

"Yes," Tsunade responded, "You three are to be Temari's body guards during the duration of the festival."

Naruto frowned at the outcome, 'Damn...There goes my date with Sakura-chan...'

It was then that Sakura looked around, and noticed one thing missing.

"Wait...What about Sai, Kakashi, and Yamato?"

Tsunade lifted her head to look at her, "As of right now, they are assigned different missions regarding the festival."

Jiraiya faked a cough to get the attention back to him, "As I was saying...Since Temari is one of the three sand children, and the issues with the Kagekaze and Akatsuki not too long ago...it is best to take these precautions in escorting her from one place to the next while she is here. Even though she will have her team of ninjas, one can never be too cautious. There have been rumors of someone attempting to sabotage the festival, and destroy the alliance."

Tsunade also added in, "She has already been informed of this, and is bringing quite a few soldiers from Suna to enjoy the celebration. She is heading here now, and should be here by tomorrow afternoon. Meet her at the gate, and take her and the guests to their specified locations. Shikamaru has already been informed of where they are."

"Are there any questions?"

No one responded.

"You're dismissed."

The three ninjas exited the room without saying another word, leaving Jiraiya and Tsunade to themselves.

"Do you really think Temari can work this one out with Shikamaru, and do as we requested?"

"Even though we thought Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon messed up the opportunities...it seems it may have actually pushed them somewhat closer."

"I agree...this is probably one of the first times Naruto hasn't complained about being given such a simple mission."

"Precisely."

"_However_..."

"However?"

"It seems I won a date with you last time since they screwed up the original plan. Care to make another bet?"

Tsunade twitched and glared at him while he chuckled nervously to himself, waiting for the explosion.

* * *

Shikamaru, Sakura, and Naruto discussed the plan of action for the simple mission, and Shikamaru had informed them of everything he had been told. Once the meeting had finished, Sakura and Naruto had set off towards their home, while Shikamaru headed towards his. As they walked down a rather crowded street, many people obstructed their way. It was difficult for them to move together easily without being separated by a kid or adult.

"Naruto, wait up!" Sakura yelled after him. She was a couple yards away, but a group of people had decided to move in front of her at that moment.

Naruto noticed, stopped, and waited for her to catch up, "There has to be a better way than trying to get through this mess."

He turned around to look for a better path to travel, when he felt someone grab his hand. He looked down to see her hand linked with his.

"It'll be easier this way. We won't get separated."

Naruto could feel his cheeks begin to redden as well, but refused to allow it to appear. 'This...this is the first time she's ever suggested something like this...she was willing to feed me at my favorite ramen bar, she didn't mind kissing my cheek, or laying down with me at the training grounds. Sure we accidentally kissed, and she knocked me out...but she...is the one suggesting most of this now...maybe I should-'

"Naruto..." He saw the pink-haired beauty wave her hand in front of his face. "What are you waiting for?"

"Right..." They mingled through the crowd as if they were water passing through cracks in a wall.

It wasn't long until they reached the midpoint between their final destinations, and Sakura released Naruto's hand.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said with smile.

"Y-yeah...see ya."

Sakura turned to leave, but was stopped in her tracks by his voice.

"Sakura-chan."

"Huh?" she turned around, and felt soft, puckered lips against her forehead. The bottom of Naruto's chin was at her eye level, and she naturally closed her eyes to enjoy the moment. She felt him pull away, and opened her eyes. Naruto was standing in front of her with the largest blush and devious grin displayed on his face.

"You have a large charming forehead...Made me want to kiss it."

Sakura blushed instantly, taken aback by his words. A part of her wanted to hit him for shocking her once again, while the other remained still, and accepted the gesture. However, something began to buzz in her head, and she felt like she had heard those words before.

"I'll catch ya later, Sakura-chan," he smiled back at her and waved as he turned to walk towards his apartment with his heart pounding into his ribs.

Sakura was unable to move. She had heard those words before, though they weren't from Naruto, but Sasuke commenting on Naruto.

* * *

The ceiling was rather boring, though he had been staring at it for at least an hour now, remembering everything he had felt and experienced. It was hard to act like the previous night never happened, but he found it seeping through the small openings created.

'We really did kiss...' he repeated for the hundredth time within the hour, 'we held hands, and I kissed her forehead. It felt so...right...'

His heart beat faster at the thoughts, and for some reason he wanted to see her again. He wanted to see her, know how she felt, and what she thought. The one particular thing he wanted was to feel her lips against his again. The one unexpected moment they experienced on her balcony had given him hope that maybe…just maybe they could go beyond dating once they got Sasuke back.

'Sakura-chan...' he felt like a lovesick puppy thinking her name, just like he had been when he was younger. She was everything to him, the person he wanted to hold and protect, and have her love him entirely in return. Though he felt selfish for the thoughts, he wanted her as his, not Sasuke's or Fuzzy-brow's or anyone else's.

He lifted his hand so it was a foot away from his face. Just looking at his hand helped remember what hers felt like. Her hands were soft, but the texture also indicated she had trained hard over the years, and lost some of the soft feminine touch they would have had.

He was completely lost in thought, but was still able to hear the knock on the door, and stood up to answer it, curious as to whom it was this time of day. He cracked open the door slightly to see the guest, and recognizing the face at once he opened the door fully.

"W-What are you doing here?"

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**Cliff hanger of doom again...couldn't help myself. Who's at the door? I'd like to know myself. Anyway, this is as far as I got before I stopped once again. I do know who is at the door, but started a new chapter for that one. No, I'm not telling anyone - so don't bother asking. I think it's more fun to be surprised. Anyway, no idea when I'm going to update again...hopefully faster than a few months though. Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter.**

**Special thanks for everyone who leaves a comment. I probably wouldn't have posted this chapter without your support Be sure to leave your vote on my profile poll.**


	6. A Shakespeare Setting

**I know what some of you are thinking, "HOLY SH*T!!! SHE UPDATED! #%#^$%$#%*&^^%$$**#" **So yes, you can either read what I have to say, or read the next part of the story. I say read the next part of the story, and what I have to say at the bottom, instead of wasting your time reading this. Anyway, Sorry for the short chapter, and insanely long wait, lol (I'm pro at procrastination! Go figure). The next chapter should be a bit longer. To sum everything up, this is the night before the carnival. Shikamaru, Sakura, and Naruto are all body guards to Temari who came with people from the sand village. Now everything is being set for the next couple days of celebration. Oh, and yes, you get to find out who was at Naruto's door ^_-**

**Disclaimer: If you couldn't tell from all the chapters so far…I DON'T OWN NARUTO! They belong to their respectable owners…who don't happen to be me. Otherwise I would be rich, and able to afford college instead of hoping for the best day by day. I own the plot, unless there is something in there that belongs to someone else…in which case, sorry, I used it, but it's technically credited to that person. Either way, I make no money from writing this, so don't sue me since you're not going to get anything anyway. If anything, you can have all my college loans. Now stop reading my rant about how poor I am, and read the story! Enjoy! Lol.**

* * *

**Gratification**

**Chapter 6: A Shakespeare Setting**

"WHA-"

His two-genin accomplices quickly covered his mouth, and pulled him onto a tree branch where they could all watch. They had been observing Naruto for some time now, but weren't expecting to have someone visit him so late at night. Konohamaru managed to struggle free from his fellow ninjas' grasp after a few moments.

"What's he doing there?"

Neither genin responded, but simply watched what was happening in the room where Naruto stood.

In the room, Naruto was also attempting to make sense of the situation as well, "Choji?"

It only took a few more moments before Shikamaru was visible,"Hiya Naruto."

"What are you two doing here so late?"

"As troublesome as it is, this was the only time we were both able to ask you a favor, and explain the situation. Do you mind if we come in?"

"Oh, uh, Sure," Naruto then stepped to the side to allow the two entrance into his apartment.

Shikamaru noticed how unclean the area was. There were ramen bowls piled up in the sink, on the kitchen table, and the trash was full to the top of easy-make ramen bowls. Otherwise, the rest of the apartment was decent. He took his place at the kitchen table, and shoved over some of the trash. Choji joined him, and so did Naruto.

"What's going on?" Naruto finally asked.

"The festival is beginning tomorrow afternoon, and lasting for a few days. Even though every ninja is on patrol, missions, or busy during this time, Choji has a personal mission."

Naruto looked at Choji who was slightly unsure, but looked back at Naruto with the same stoic face, "What personal mission is that?"

Choji was the one who answered; "I was hoping to...er...get a date with Ino..." he blushed slightly as he said the statement.

Naruto had a different reaction however, "I-Ino? You mean _the_ Ino? Your teammate who constantly reminds you that you're a fa-"Shikamaru had been able to anticipate the next words, and leapt out of his seat to cover Naruto's mouth just in time even though the hand he used to push himself over the table was now in a rament bowl.

"Huh? Why did you cover his mouth Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru glared at Naruto for a moment, silently communicating his thoughts before he released him, "I thought I heard something outside, so I had to silence Naruto immediately."

The three genin's outside suddenly felt a chill go up the back of their spines, and ducked down farther down in the tree.

Shikamaru sat back in his chair before continuing, "How troublesome. Yes, the Ino you just described is who Choji wants a date with. And-"

"I get it. I get it. Since I'm the almighty Naruto, Future Hokage, to-be living legend, and, out of all the possible choices, am the only one who is capable of fulfilling your request, it is my duty as a friend to-"

"No."

The room fell silent with both Shikamaru and Choji staring at Naruto as if he were an idiot while Naruto face faulted into the kitchen table.

Naruto popped up,"Eh?" then tilted his head, and arched an eyebrow at Shikamaru, "What?" He had never been shut down like that before.

"We were actually going to ask you to deliver the message to Sakura-san."

Naruto nailed the ground immediately from the response.

"However, certain complications prevented us from using Sakura-san, Neji-san, Kiba-san, and so you became the best choice."

Naruto's mouth dropped, "So I'm the best...A-Alternative?"

"Sure." Choji finally said, disregarding the last statement. Naruto continued to stare at Choji as if he were joking or just plain out cruel for putting his hopes down.

'This is so troublesome...I knew this was a bad idea...' Shikamaru sighed before saying, "Now that you understand our situation, and we have your cooperationno here is my plan."

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The night air was refreshing compared to her room. She had been sitting on the tree branch with her legs dangling for almost an hour now. Naruto's words, earlier that day, in relation to her forehead baffled her to no end.

She noticed she had become more bold suddenly, or maybe even more careless towards Naruto since they kissed. It was as if the barrier which had separated them was broken, but her old habits still got the better of her. This past week or so had been like a roller coaster. There were moments when she felt their relationship was only a mere friendship, and yet there were times when he would simply surprise her with his words and personality. She found herself falling in love with him...only for him to ruin those moments with something else he would say or do.

"_You have a large charming forehead...Made me want to kiss it..."_

'It's not possible...'

She repeated the phrase in her head multiple times, trying to think of how it was possible for Naruto to have said the exact phrase Sasuke said. Maybe he overheard them, or Sasuke had told him at some point...Maybe he really did think of it on his own, and it was just a fluke...The possibilities were endless. She was finally distracted from her thoughts when she saw a figure coming in her direction.

When the figure was close enough, she could hear a familiar female voice say, "I thought I would find you here."

"How did you-"

"Because it's where we use to come when we were younger."

Sakura smiled softly, remembering fond memories when she used to pick flowers with her ex-female rival.

"What are you doing here?" Sakura finally asked.

"Unfortunately, Forehead girl, you're the only person who can help me with this," she said as she blushed slightly and looked down at her feet.

Sakura couldn't believe what she was hearing, but smiled anyway, "...so...you're consenting to the fact that I am better than you in every aspect?"

"W-What?! I never said that!" Ino retorted as she crossed her arms, "We're still rivals to some extent of course, but if you don't want to help...fine...I'll think of another way."

Her facial expression became slightly more serious, "Okay, okay, what do you need help with?"

The question caused the girl to blush more, "I-I like someone on your team, and...I was hoping since...you know, since you knew him it would be e-easier to...t-to..."

"It would be easier for you to get alone time?" Sakura responded as if she could read Ino's mind. Ino nodded in response, and Sakura couldn't help, but feel as if she had expected this from her former rival.

After a few moments of consideration she finally responded to Ino's plea, "I'll help you out then, Ino-Pig," she continued, "But on one condition..."

"Hm?"

"You owe me."

It looked as if the wheels were turning in Ino's head at that moment. By making this agreement she would be in debt to her rival, but at least she would get what she wanted in the end even if it wasn't Sasuke. A few more seconds, and Ino agreed.

"So who is the guy anyway, Ino-Pig?" Sakura asked even though the choices were limited. It was Yamato, Sai, or Kakashi since there was no way it was Naruto. Both blondes had never quite gotten along since it had been Ino and her who had made fun of him the most when they were younger.

"Don't tell anyone...but it's...it's...um..."

"Yeah?"

"Um...it's..."

"Spit it out. It can't be that hard, can it?"

"Okay. Okay. It's...Naruto."

Sakura felt like she had been thrown into a washer with ten thousand bricks nailing every inch of her body with Ino's voice echoing in the back saying Naruto's name. "Wha-What did you just say?" Why was her mouth suddenly scraping the ground as well?

"Na-Ru-To...U-Zu-Ma-Ki. Naruto. Our class' clown...been on your team since...I don't know- the BEGINNING...He really did change after a few years...I didn't think I would be so embarrassed to admit it, but he has become quite attractive."

Sakura was still trying to register what Ino was saying. Was he really that popular? How was she supposed to respond to that?

"HELL NO PIG! HE'S MINE!!!" Inner Sakura was screaming at the top of her lungs.

'She can't be serious, this is Ino were talking about...change? When did he?' She thought for a few moments, 'I guess he did change since we were younger, but I shouldn't overreact...I mean we only kissed...once...and have been on almost every mission together so far since he got back...and when we were younger...I know him better than she does...why is she waving her hand in my face while giggling? This isn't funny!'

"Forehead girl?" Ino was waving her hand in front of Sakura's face while giggling.

"What's so funny?" Sakura unintentionally snapped back.

"Um..." Ino started laughing at this point, "You should have seen your face. It was priceless."

The last part of what Ino said seemed to knock Sakura out of her current chain of thought. She stepped back slightly confused by her friend's eccentric actions, but finally made the connection between her answer and the laughter.

"Damn it, Ino-pig! Stop messing around, who is it?"

Ino blushed, yet smiled confidently, "Sai."

Once again Sakura felt her mouth hit the ground, but not for the same reasons. Yamato or Kakashi would have been better choices all around, "You do realize that he's not as nice as he seems, right? That he is actually quite vulgar, and doesn't understand it isn't appropriate to vocalize certain thoughts?"

"He seems nice enough to me."

"When he is around people, but not one on one."

Sakura watched as Ino revaluated the situation, "Okay, okay. Maybe I was being a little unreasonable."

"I'm happy you came to your senses," Sakura commented with a sigh of relief.

"I should have attempted much earlier."

"W-What?" Sakura's words were only backed up by her thoughts of, 'Eh...?'

"So are you going to help me out or not?"

'She'll just have to learn on her own then...' With a sigh, Sakura responded downheartedly, "What did you have in mind?"

**NaruSaku NaruSaku ReadandReview NaruSaku NaruSaku I don't know where this is going NakuSaku NaruSaku NaruSaku but I love this pairing! NaruSaku NaruSaku if You're reading this NaruSaku Cool NaruSaku NaruSaku ReadandReview NaruSaku NaruSaku**

The whole village slept peacefully that night awaiting the carnival the next day. Only the Hokage stood restlessly at the window in her office overlooking the entire village. Her arms rested on the window sill as she hunched over it. She had been up for a few hours now enjoying the view. It was quiet, and allowed her to think peacefully for once. The silence was broken by the door to her office creaking open. She straightened up, and crossed her arms as she turned her head to see the intruder only to let down her guard when she saw her fellow sennin walk through the door. His white hair glistening as he came into the moonlight.

"What are you doing up here so late at night?"

"I should be asking you the same question," she responded with a smile.

He only smirked in response, and walked to her side inches away from her. Tsunade was almost uncomfortable with the distance, but wasn't going to complain. Both stood content enjoying the senery until Tsunade broke the silence.

"I don't think I've ever seen you use the door."

"I didn't feel like making you put up your guard at this time of night. Your hits can be extremely painful." He smiled as if he were proud to know that fact, while Tsunade smirked with pride from that comment. Both relaxed once again.

Tsunade smiled knowlingly as she informed him, "The carnival starts tomorrow."

"So I've been told," he too smiled, knowing what was to come, "It will definitely offer a good supply of ideas for my new book."

Jiraiya laughed while Tsunade refrained from hitting him, but felt her eyebrow twitch and vein bludge from annoyance. He was the only one who would willingly admit to something like this.

"If I catch you peeking at any female that's even partically undressed-" Tsunade began saying as she slowly found her form towering over him.

"Easy now Tsunade-hime," he said as he raised both his hands towards her as if to prevent her from hitting him at that moment, "I'll be on my good behavior this time."

Jiraiya watched as Tsunade backed off into her previous position, and felt as if his body had just been spared. She looked away from him, and his words made her turn back to face him.

"Other than that, it will also be a good conclusion to your plan and our bet."

"Yeah...I'll be expecting to go to the hot springs once the carnival finishes."

He let out a merry laugh, "Our date will be the last night of the carnival." He winked at her, "You'll enjoy it. It will be in here if anything."

"In here?"

He nodded, "You'll just have to find out then."

"Humph, we'll see about that." Tsunade crossed her arms, and looked back at the village. Jiraiya took the opportunity to sneak a peek at her through the corner of his eye. Her profile radiated in the moonlight. His eyes trailed down her profile until they stoped on her upper torso. He tilted his head down, and closed his eyes with his same perverted smile finding it's way onto his face.

"Tsunade-hime..."

She rotated her head to look at him, "Hm?"

"I'm happy I had a big-breasted woman as my partner all these years."

Within seconds he was flying over Konoha with a giant shoe print on his rear from Tsunade while she yelled warnings at him from the window where they had both been standing.

The only thought to pass through his head while he soared through the night sky with a smirk was, 'I still got it.'

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**Yes, Yes, another cliffhanger of doom. XD I thought I should at least post this to give everyone who has been reading this story recently some hope of me continuing…I couldn't quite leave everyone hanging. So yes, this is me hopelessly attempting to finish this story, because some of the recent reviews that were left motivated me to continue. ^_- Everyone who has left a review, I can't thank you enough since it is probably the only reason I even came back to this story in the end. My main focus is to finish this story, and I apologize in advance if the following chapters aren't quite as long as the previous ones. I appreciate the feedback, but I can't do anything about how long I take to post chapters. = ( As much as it pains me, my life can no longer revolve around stories. Also, I'm sorry if I let anyone down with this chapter. I know it's probably not what many expect, but it's how I initially wanted the story to go. Lol, I hope everyone liked my subliminal messages =D Have an awesome day! Now please leave a review!**

**Update (12/23): Thank you Agent-G! I added more detail to all the sections in this chapter to clarify what was happening.**


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